Maine Warden Service names new deputy chief

AUGUSTA, Maine — Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife officials announced on Tuesday that Wdn. Capt. Chris Cloutier has been sworn in as the department’s new game warden major or deputy chief of the Maine Warden Service.

Cloutier assumes the position that was previously held by Maj. Gregory Sanborn, who died on Feb. 5 after a battle with cancer.

Maine Game Warden Col. Joel Wilkinson (left) stands with new Wdn. Maj. Chris Cloutier, Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife commissioner Chandler Woodcock and deputy commissioner Andrea Erskine after Cloutier was sworn in as deputy chief of the Maine Warden Service in Augusta on Tuesday. (Photo courtesy of the Maine Warden Service)

According to a DIF&W press release, Cloutier earned a bachelor’s degree in conservation law enforcement from Unity College and attended the Maine Warden Service Academy in 1996. Cloutier has served the Maine Warden Service as an incident commander and a forensic mapping specialist. Cloutier was a warden in southern Maine until 2009, when he was promoted to sergeant in the Greenville region. He was named acting lieutenant in 2011 and later that year became acting game warden captain.

“Maj. Cloutier has experienced each level of the warden service and will be a valued member of our leadership team,” DIF&W commissioner Chandler Woodcock said in the press release. “I look forward to working with him in his new capacity.”

The chief of the Maine Warden Service, Col. Joel Wilkinson, also praised his new deputy chief.

“[Cloutier] is a well-respected supervisor within the warden service who brings a disciplined and even-mannered approach to his work,” Wilkinson said in the news release. “He is a dedicated game warden who co-workers characterize as patient, reliable and competent. Maj. Cloutier’s level of experience in both field-level supervision and policy-level skills in Augusta are among his greatest strengths.”

John Holyoke

About John Holyoke

John Holyoke has been enjoying himself in Maine's great outdoors since he was a kid. Today, he's the Outdoors editor for the BDN, a job that allows him to meet up with Maine outdoors enthusiasts in their natural habitat. The stories he gathers provide fodder for his columns, and this blog.