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Regular Session, 2013
SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTI ON NO. 126
BY SENATOR ALARIO AND REPRESENTATIVES DOVE AND KLECKLEY
COMMENDATIONS. Commends Colonel Winton Vidrine on his retirement from the
Department of Wildlife and Fisheries after a distinguished forty-three year career, including
twenty-four years as chief of the enforcement divison.
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTI ON1
To commend Colonel Winton Vidrine on his retirement from the Department of Wildlife2
and Fisheries after a distinguished forty-three year career, including twenty-four3
years as chief of the enforcement division.4
WHEREAS, Col. Vidrine is a native of Washington, Louisiana, where his hard-5
working parents reared him on a cotton and sweet potato farm and instilled in him their6
traditional work ethic; and7
WHEREAS, Col. Vidrine entered law enforcement in 1970 as an enforcement8
division agent for the department, working seven days a week to stop the longstanding9
problem of illegal hunting, fishing and trapping in Louisiana; and10
WHEREAS, Col. Vidrine soon became famous for his day and night campaign to11
apprehend night hunters, fish shockers, poachers and local outlaws operating in the swamps,12
forests and waters of Louisiana; and13
WHEREAS, Col. Vidrine's methods were highly successful and he quickly became14
the region's leading agent with the most arrests to his credit and the most criminal cases15
being prepared for prosecution in court; and 16
WHEREAS, his tactics and results were applauded by law abiding citizens; however,17
lawbreakers began trying to stop his efforts by attempting to use deadly force, burning his18 SCR NO. 126
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personal camp and making him a major target for their vengeance; and1
WHEREAS, when asked about his talent for arresting lawbreakers, he attributed2
some of his adeptness at catching bad guys to genetics, saying he was good at sneaking up3
on people due to being part Native American; and4
WHEREAS, some of Col. Vidrine's methods of arrest would become the stuff of5
legends and stories such as his being sent to Avoyelles Parish to stop night hunters who were6
using horses and his catching one of those horses and using it to track the criminals back to7
their hideout, resulting in the arrest of five men and confiscation of their horses, saddles,8
tack and weapons; and9
WHEREAS, the Avoyelles Parish case led to Col. Vidrine being recognized in 197510
as the department's Outstanding Officer of the Year, but it also led to his working dangerous11
undercover cases in remote areas where communication with other agents did not exist and12
help was many miles away; and13
WHEREAS, in addition to the Avoyelles Parish case, Col. Vidrine's bravery and14
fearless actions became part of the department's folklore with incidents such as the Long15
Bayou case, where he was assigned to stop the illegal taking of game fish in a remote area16
and he successfully closed the case with twenty-two arrests; and17
WHEREAS, Col. Vidrine's courage, dedication and tireless efforts helped him18
achieve significant advances in rank and in 1976 he was promoted to captain of the19
Opelousas district, the youngest in the state and tasked with managing twenty-six20
enforcement agents; and21
WHEREAS, he rose through the ranks of the enforcement division with his22
promotion to major in 1978, lieutenant colonel in 1980, and the top position of colonel and23
chief of the enforcement division in 1988; and24
WHEREAS, Col. Vidrine instituted major reforms in the division such as an25
interview panel for job promotions where only the best and brightest were considered for a26
higher rank; and27
WHEREAS, Col. Vidrine also greatly improved the capabilities of agents with a28
heavy emphasis on training in a variety of areas such as education, weapons, first aid, search29
and rescue, physical fitness and first responder skills; and30 SCR NO. 126
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WHEREAS, Col. Vidrine established a Maritime Special Response Team to handle1
disasters such as hurricanes Katrina and Rita and the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico; and2
WHEREAS, Col. Vidrine and his agents worked under extremely harsh conditions3
for more than two weeks after Hurricane Katrina, often taking gunfire from heavily armed,4
violent street gangs, but training and preparation helped the agents through the ordeal and5
ultimately none were harmed; and6
WHEREAS, Col. Vidrine and his agents were recognized for their heroism by the7
U.S. Congress when those agents rescued more than twenty thousand people trapped by the8
flood waters of Hurricane Katrina; and9
WHEREAS, Col. Vidrine's enforcement division has jurisdiction over both state and10
federal law throughout the entire state with federal law enforcement commissions granting11
them special authority from the U.S. Department of the Interior, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife12
Service and the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service to act alone or in conjunction with13
other local, state, and federal agencies; and14
WHEREAS, one of Col. Vidrine's biggest fears in his job is the loss of an agent, and15
seven agents have been killed in the line of duty since the department was formed,16
prompting him to establish an Honor Guard to memorialize the fallen officers and to create17
the Ken Aycock Award in honor of one of those slain agents; and18
WHEREAS, Col. Vidrine has received much recognition and numerous awards for19
his accomplishments, and his most coveted award is the 1990 Special Olympic Award, given20
for the department's support in the event.21
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby22
extend its highest commendations to Colonel Winton Vidrine for his many accomplishments23
during a distinguished forty-three year career with the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries,24
twenty-four of which were as chief of the enforcement division.25
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to26
Colonel Winton Vidrine and the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.27 SCR NO. 126
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The original instrument and the following digest, which constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument, were prepared by Heyward Jeffers.
DIGEST
Alario SCR No. 126
Commends Col. Winton Vidrine on his retirement from the Department of Wildlife and
Fisheries after a distinguished 43-year career.