BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS MONDAY, NOVEMBER 16TH 2015

Game wardens in Texas have taken on a growing but often overlooked role in the push for a more secure border with Mexico.

The Dallas Morning News reports the state will spend $800 million to boost border security efforts, and a piece of the plan is determining how best to utilize game wardens' experience along the border.

They patrolled around the clock along a stretch of the Rio Grande River during the 14-month border surge that concluded in August.

Officials say wardens at the time focused less on traditional resource conservation and more on intercepting people coming across the river.

They referred 21,000 people suspected of immigration violations to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

One consequence was a drop in citations and warnings given elsewhere in the state.

http://valleycentral.com/news/local/...-border-patrol