After nearly a decade of dedicated service in Liberty County, Texas Game Warden Jake Noxon is set to trade territories, transitioning to a new post in Walker County. The move allows Noxon to be closer to his family, including wife, Jessica, and sons, Jenson and Jordy, though he is sad to leave behind so many friends he has made in Liberty County.
“I am so thankful for how everybody in Liberty County welcomed me here and I will miss it. It took me a while to build the relationships and trust with the community. It’s been awesome being here. You know, even people who I have filed on for violations still shake my hand in public,” Noxon said with a chuckle. “I learned a lot from Mike Boone (retired game warden) about being active in the community and the importance of building relationships. I hope to pass that along to the next guy who takes my place here.”
Chief Deputy Billy Knox with the Liberty County Sheriff’s Office said, “Jake Noxon has been a tremendous asset to this county and is going to be greatly missed.”
Noxon’s last day in Liberty County is officially Jan. 31. After that, he will be assigned to Walker County, though he expects to be back later this year to help train his replacement. Noxon said a new game warden for Liberty County has yet to be assigned and he expects it could come as late as June after the latest round of game wardens graduates from the academy.
Working in Liberty County for any game warden comes with its own challenges, Noxon said, the biggest challenge being the sheer size of the county. Liberty County, with its total area of 1,176 square miles, ranks 42nd out of 254 Texas counties.
“The other challenge is Liberty County is still very rural. You can be in Cleveland handling one problem and then someone in Devers will call with another problem. It will take you an hour and a half just to reach them. You can’t just sink your feet into one area because there is so much ground to cover for one game warden,” he said.
Noxon wishes to thank everyone for the warm welcome he has received in Liberty County, which he credits with making his job much easier.
“There are a lot of good people in Liberty County that have really come out to help me when I needed them. As a game warden, you are by yourself a lot, so I’ve had to rely on community people a lot. They have used their side-by-sides to pull my truck out of the mud, pulled me out of the river when my boat broke down, and helped me dig out the boat ramp in Liberty, knowing that I have to use the boat ramp as much as the community does,” he said.
With Liberty County briefly without a game warden, Noxon said Liberty County residents should report all hunting and fishing-related problems to the Liberty County Sheriff’s Office by calling 936-336-4500. Property owners should try to document their cases as best they can and provide that information to the sheriff’s office, which will investigate, Noxon said.
The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department has a list of animal rehabbers who will take in small mammals, deer and deer fawns, and birds in need of medical care. One rehabber is listed for Liberty County, though Noxon said she is no longer in operation. Noxon recommends the Kemp Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in Beaumont (kempwildlife@gmail.com) for most mammals and the Wildlife Center of Texas in Katy (Phone: 713-861-9453) for raptors and other wild birds.
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Lauren left and went to Mason County, then we got Chad. What happened to Chad?
I really like Jake. A good man.
BYE