AUSTIN— At Thursday’s Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission meeting, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Executive Director Carter Smith recognized Texas Game Warden Carlos Maldonado as the National Wild Turkey Federation’s Texas Wildlife Officer of the Year.

Warden Maldonado graduated as part of the 54th cadet class, which was the first class to attend the Game Warden Training Center in Hamilton. Since graduation, Maldonado has served as a game warden for Jim Hogg County for the past nine years.

Maldonado is an active member of his community and works closely with landowners focusing on encouraging youth to be more active outdoors. He organizes and assists with youth hunts on area ranches and attends career days at Hebbronville High School and Bruni High School to promote the game warden recruiting program. Maldonado also serves on the Jim Hogg County Emergency Services District as a board member to assist his community with fire protection and emergency medical services. He also serves the county as a volunteer firefighter.

Maldonado is known by his fellow game wardens as a reliable team member who would drop everything to assist and guide them in anything they need. He will take phone calls from wardens across the state to translate for game wardens speaking to individuals who only speaks Spanish.

He also took the initiative to become a firearms instructor, Glock, M4 and M240B weapons armorer and continuously strives to assist his peers with their firearms proficiency.

Warden Maldonado has assumed the role of deer breeder liaison and assists game wardens in Jim Hogg, Starr and Zapata Counties. He also works closely with various agencies including the Jim Hogg County Sheriff’s Office (JHCSO), United States Border Patrol’s Hebbronville and Zapata stations, Texas Department of Public Safety Highway Patrol Troopers, Jim Hogg County ISD Police Officers, Jim Hogg County Constables and the Jim Hogg County Volunteer Fire Department.

His relationship with these agencies have led to his involvement in diverse types of cases. Warden Maldonado assists the United States Border Patrol when narcotics smugglers utilize the area ranches to smuggle contraband into our country. He also aids the JHSCO when they are limited to very few patrol deputies. With the JHCSO, Maldonado has helped with domestic violence calls, armed robberies, burglaries and high-speed pursuits.