AUSTIN – Texas Game Warden Timothy Walker was recognized as the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (SEAFWA) Officer of the Year award recipient during January’s Texas Parks and Wildlife (TPWD) Commission meeting.

Walker began his career with TPWD as a member of the 47th Texas Game Warden Training Academy Class. After graduating from the academy in 2001, he has since served the communities of Van Zandt and Angelina Counties.

Walker is a certified master peace officer, a physical training coordinator and participates in simunitions trainings. As a simunitions role player, Walker helps instructors facilitate reality-based, high-stress, use-of-force training situations to prepare fellow wardens for incidents they may encounter in the field.

He is also an active member of the Law Enforcement Division’s Forensic Reconstruction and Mapping (STORM) team. As part of this specialized team, Walker has participated in additional trainings and has learned to use the latest technology in the field to reconstruct the most heinous of crimes and boating collisions using 3D video reconstruction software. His expertise as a STORM team member has helped numerous wardens complete investigations and provide closure for victims’ families.

Over the course of his 23-year career, Walker has embodied the spirit of conservation law enforcement. He has pursued many wildlife cases resulting in felony arrests that were initially deemed unachievable by fellow officers. Some of his more notable work during the 2023 fiscal year includes: apprehending a poacher who illegally harvested a 150-inch white-tailed deer after a year-long investigation; assisting the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service with an investigation that resulted in the apprehension and prosecution of an individual who illegally took a 13-foot alligator from the Neches River; and apprehending a group of waterfowl hunters for hunting over bait after a five-year investigation. Walker also patrolled 37,814 miles, wrote 248 citations and conducted 14 public programs throughout the year.

“Game Warden Timothy Walker is an asset to the agency and the state of Texas,” said Col. Chad Jones, TPWD Law Enforcement Director. “We are pleased that Timothy has received this recognition and are proud of his diligent work in protecting our state’s natural resources and the example he sets for fellow wardens.”

In addition to the current honor, Walker has received a Director’s Life Saving Award and a Director’s Citation for his teamwork and rescues conducted during flooding incidents on the Trinity River and Sabine River.