Member Profiles

Tom Thoreson

Tom retired in March of 2005 after a career of over 30 years of state service with WDNR. He retired as the Deputy Chief Conservation Warden.




In order to put himself through college at the Univer- sity of Wisconsin - Madison at the age of nineteen, Tom began working full-time for the State in the Assembly Chief Clerk's Office.





Assembly Chief Clerk's Office
1978

Tom was hired as a conservation warden in 1979 and served as a field warden, recreational safety warden and the state's first full-time environmental warden-all in the Southeast District.

Tom and his first squad, a 1976 AMC Matador hand me down
1979

In 1988, Tom and his bride Kim moved to Madison where he became the Madison Area warden supervisor.

In November 1989, Tom promoted to the Deputy Division Administrator of the Enforcement Division. He served on numerous Department teams and held numerous Law Enforcement positions after the 1995 DNR reorganization. Tom's most notable accomplishments were establishing case law as an environmental warden, peace-keeping duties during the spearfish/protest era and leading the revision of the State's Waterway Access Policy.

Since retiring, Tom has remained very active. He is currently serving his second four year term as a member of the Dane County Parks Commission. He has also served individual one year terms as our WARC Secretary, Treasurer and President.

Tom also continues to be active in conservation issues currently serving on the Board of Directors of the Wisconsin League of Conservation Voters.

Tom remains most active in retirement on the home front.

As president of the Verona Area Cross Country Boosters and the Verona Area Boys' Soccer Boosters, he enjoys being directly involved with his high school age sons' school and club activities.

Doug, Kim, Tom and Dan

Hunting, fishing, camping, canoeing, gardening and church are all activities he enjoys. "I feel there is nothing better than spending quality time with my lovely bride Kim," Tom says. "It seems like we just turned around and the kids who were toddlers are now going off to college."

In 2009, this monster walked out of the fog and into Tom's sight

Doug, Kim, and Dan on a family visit to Disneyworld
December 2009

Reflecting back, Tom truly feels blessed in both work and home. A wonderful family they both have always been.