County's new conservation agent wants to help hunters, fishers

For Cape Girardeau County's new conservation agent, Ben Stratton, the most rewarding part of his career is helping people successfully harvest wildlife.

Some people have a desire to go hunting or fishing, he said, including children, veterans and those with disabilities. They may lack experience, guidance or equipment, however.

But through events hosted by the Missouri Department of Conservation, those people can experience the outdoors fully, and Stratton said that's what he enjoys most.

"It's amazing seeing a kid's face light up when they get a fish on the end of the hook," Stratton said of a program that helps children catch a fish for the first time.

In the department's hunter-education book, he said, it talks about the phases a hunter will go through: the shooting phase, the limiting-out phase and the trophy phase.

"And the last one is the sportsman phase, and that's when you use your knowledge and experiences to help younger hunters or older hunters to go out and be successful," he said, and it's the opportunities to help others that make his job worth it.

From a young age, Stratton was passionate about the outdoors.

His grandparents had a farm in Bollinger County, where he went hunting for deer, turkeys and squirrels. It was during a hunting trip with a childhood friend and the friend's father when Stratton realized he wanted to become a conservation agent.

"We were dove hunting and a guy across the field from us shot a bird of prey -- an American kestrel," Stratton recalled.

His friend's father, a conservation agent, wrote the man a ticket and returned to hunting.

"I was like, 'Man, that is the coolest thing ever,'" he said.

Stratton, a graduate of Cape Girardeau Central High School, earned a bachelor's degree in biology with an emphasis in wildlife management at Southeast Missouri State University and minored in criminal justice.

He graduated from the Conservation Agent Training Academy in Jefferson City, Missouri, in 2009 before working as the Mississippi County conservation agent for six years.

Stratton transferred to Cape Girardeau County in July and moved back with his wife and two daughters.

As a new agent to the area, Stratton said he wants to create a strong working relationship with the community.

"I don't think a lot of people realize that the wildlife in Missouri belongs to them," he said. "It's their wildlife, and we (conservation agents) are the only people in the state who have the sole responsibility of enforcing wildlife regulations. We're kind of like a spokesperson for the hunters and the outdoorsmen."

And that's why it's important, he said, for the agents to have that connection.

"We're only one set of eyes," he said, so agents appreciate reports from those who see a crime being committed. "Because they're going to hear stuff and see people trespassing that we would never see."

Stratton said his daily tasks change with the seasons, and every day in between is different.

"You just never know what the day's going to bring," he said, whether he's patrolling the Mississippi River, removing nuisance wildlife or watching for spotlighters or trespassers.

But helping the community is what he enjoys, Stratton said, and he encouraged those who have questions or concerns to contact him at (573) 450-1763 or Ben.Stratton@mdc.mo.gov.

"This is home to us and this is where we'd like to send our girls to school and raise our family," he said. "I'm looking forward to the next 25 years of being an agent in Cape County."

klamb@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3638

Pertinent address:

Cape Girardeau County, Mo.