Gavin Dougherty has settled into his new job duties after arriving as the new Dayton game warden in December 2024. Dougherty replaces warden Jake Miller who transferred to the Pinedale game warden district. 

Dougherty, a native of New Jersey, graduated from Maryville College in Tennessee in 2020 with a bachelor’s degree in biology. After graduation, he was hired by the North Carolina Wildlife Resource Commission as a conservation technician and later on a prescribed burn crew. He also worked as a fisheries technician for Wyoming Game and Fish in Green River in 2021.

He was offered a game warden position in Wyoming in April 2022 and attended the Wyoming Law Enforcement Academy in summer 2022. At the academy, he was recognized for his firearms proficiency, posting perfect scores on both the pistol and rifle courses. He was one of four students nominated for the Honor Graduate award and received the top academic award for achieving the highest cumulative score on all written examinations given during the course. 

He graduated in July 2022 and began work as a regional game warden in Green River, assisting district wardens and wildlife biologists with wildlife management duties in the region. Six months later, he was assigned to the West Cheyenne game warden district where he served until transferring to Dayton.

“I wanted to be a warden specifically in Wyoming because of the variety of job duties we have and the flexibility to do wildlife work outside of law enforcement,” said Dougherty. “I always knew I wanted to work in wildlife management, and this was the perfect opportunity to be a direct part of the management itself and the enforcement of those management strategies.”

“The Dayton district most appealed to me because of the proximity to the Bighorns, smaller community, and the abundance of wildlife,” he added. 

“I’m looking forward to being in a smaller community and building a close relationship with the public and landowners in the area.”