January 22, 2009

Austin, Texas — Texas Game Warden Vance Wallace was recognized as the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies "Officer of the Year" today.

Wallace, a Garland native, is currently stationed in Boerne. Previous duty stations have included Grapevine in Tarrant County and Baird in Callahan County.

The recognition of Wallace marks the 39th time the award has been presented to a deserving Texas game warden.

Wallace graduated from the 41st Texas Game Warden Academy Dec. 22, 1988. In Tarrant County, Wallace and his partners were among the first to enforce the newly enacted Boating While Intoxicated laws. Before long, BWI patrols were commonplace during peak times of water safety enforcement. During hunting seasons, Wallace worked the mechanical decoy deer operation extensively with other game wardens in the county and district experiencing much success in those early years.

After his transfer to Callahan County in September, 1993, Wallace was very active in his community and church and served as a 4-H shooting sports coach. An annual youth deer hunt first organized by Wallace and the Callahan County sheriff is still going strong today.

Also while in Callahan County, Wallace was recognized as the 2002 Texas Officer of the Year for the Association of Midwest Fish and Game Law Enforcement Officers.

Since September, 2003, Wallace has worked in Kendall County. There he is a constant presence on the local lake and rivers with his patrol by kayak. He spends considerable time with youth programs and educating the community through interaction and enforcement. During the 2007-2008 hunting season, a local ranch manager reported a possible case of hunting without landowner consent. Working with the local landowner, surveillance was initiated by Wallace and his partner that began the day before Thanksgiving and concluded the end of hunting season.

During the investigation, it was discovered that a multitude of individuals were hunting the land upon the invitation of an individual that had been hired to perform work on the ranch. During the course of this investigation, Wallace purchased, at his personal expense, a concealable game camera and a digital camera with a telephoto lens to assist in the documentation of the violations. Wallace and his partner invested literally hundreds of hours in this investigation. The completion of the case resulted in the presentation to the respective prosecutors: five felony hunt without landowner consent charges; 38 Class A misdemeanor hunt without landowner consent; three Class C misdemeanor fishing violations; one Class C misdemeanor deer tagging violation; and three warnings for license harvest log violations. When the final report was prepared and presented, the prosecutor stated it was one was one of the most detailed and complete reports ever received in prosecutor’s office.