| Year | Game Laws Adopted | Specialized Wildlife Law Enforcement Position | Agency Organization | Resident Licenses | Nonresident Licenses | Funding |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1700 | 3 (25% of colonies) | Local authorities responsible for enforcement of game laws | State laws with weak local enforcement | 0 | 0 | None |
| 1750 | 10 (76.9% of colonies) | Local authorities (MA creates local deer wardens in 1739) | System changes little until after 1850 | 0 | 0 | None |
| 1800 | 13 (81.3% of states) | Local authorities | 0 | 0 | None | |
| 1850 | 18 (58.15% of states) | Primarily local authorities (2 more states create local wardens: NH fish wardens 1809, ME moose wardens 1852) | 0 | 0 | None (some wardens kept fines) (Warren 1997) | |
| 1900 | 48 (98% of states and territories) | 31 states (63% of total) develop warden positions at local or state level (compensation varies across states between salaries and piece rate) | State legislatures oversee appointed state wardens who are responsible for local wardens | 5 (10%); MI and ND were the first in 1895 | 9 (18.4%); NJ was the first in 1873 | Limited (states allocated meager funds from general budget as they began to collect license fees) |
| 1950 | 50 (100% of states and territories) | 50 (100%) have game wardens | State legislatures control commissions who oversee agencies headed by paid administrator | 44 (89.8%) | 50 (100%) | Pittman-Robertson Act of 1937 forces states to give full license fee to wildlife agencies |
| 2000 | 50 (100% of states) | State commissions are largely independent policy-making bodies that oversee bureaucratic agencies | 50 (100%) | 50 (100%) | Modern agencies funded by license fees, federal monies, tax checkoffs, dedicated taxes, and other special programs |
Source:Tober (1981); Lueck and Parker (2022).