Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Longtime Lincoln County Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Officer retires
Longtime Lincoln County Fish and Wildlife officer Curt Wood is now enjoying retirement with his four grandchildren, Gabe, Milli, Ady and Eva.
DAVENPORT-After a 37-year career in outdoor law enforcement, 27 years of which were spent as Lincoln County's resident Fish and Wildlife officer monitoring pesky cougars, black bears and litterers, Curt Wood headed for retirement May 25.
Wood, a Wisconsin native who now lives in Mill Canyon, hung up his badge and now looks forward to more time spent with his four grandchildren. He doesn't plan to stay indoors, as his retirement plans include plenty of hunting, fishing and traveling.
"I miss working with the people, but it's been very enjoyable being retired," Wood said. "I have no regrets...we caught a lot of bad guys and gals."
Wood began his law enforcement career with a seasonal job for Wisconsin State Parks, knowing from a young age he wanted to work outdoors. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point in 1981 with a degree in wildlife management and biology while minoring in environmental law enforcement.
His first exposure to working in the Western United States came while working with the Bureau of Land Management in Cody, Wyoming in 1982.
"I knew I wanted to move west then," Wood said.
He moved to Torrington, Wyoming, after marrying his wife, JoAnn Wood in 1985.
"I went to the law enforcement academy in Douglas," Wood said. "In the summer of 1988, Yellowstone burned, (so) we moved for a job with what was then the Department of Wildlife."
That move brought the Woods to Washington...first, to Forks.
"I was assigned to Forks for seven years from 1988 to 1995," Wood said. "Then that summer (of 1995), I transferred to Lincoln County."
Wood has been here ever since. His two children, son Justin and daughter Amber, both graduated from Davenport High School. Amber and her two children still live in the Davenport area, while Justin is deployed in Italy as an active member of the Air Force.
One of Wood's first moves as a retired man is a planned trip to Florida, where he plans to fish in the Gulf of Mexico and hunt for alligators.
The Lincoln County post has been taken over by JoLynn Beauchene, an 18-year veteran with Fish and Wildlife who most recently worked in Spokane Valley.
The Woods, meanwhile, plan to remain in the Mill Canyon area for the first phase of Wood's retirement.
Drew Lawson is the editor of the Davenport Times. He is a graduate of Eastern Washington University.
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