On Saturday at Gill Stadium in Manchester, fans of the Animal Planet series “North Woods Law” were in heaven. They waited patiently in line to meet their favorite celebrities, and after receiving autographs and taking photos, they settled into their seats to watch the officers play some softball.

In the fifth-annual North Woods Throwdown charity softball game, the New Hampshire Conservation Officers took down the Maine Game Wardens, 11-6. New Hampshire has now won three of the five games.

“North Woods Law” first aired in 2012, following the day-to-day lives of the Maine Game Wardens as they roamed the state to enforce hunting and fishing laws, help rescue lost hikers, capture and relocate nuisance wildlife and much more. In 2017, the series shifted to New Hampshire to focus on the state’s Fish and Game Department.

The main subjects of the show could’ve never anticipated the reception.

“It’s like, who in the world is going to care about watching a bunch of game wardens do their thing?” said Chris Simmons, a Maine warden. “We were kind of flabbergasted. But now that we’ve had our show, New Hampshire’s had its show, the best thing in the world is these young kids that watch the show, and they want to be game wardens when they grow up, which we’re actually reaping the benefits of it now.”

The show hasn’t filmed any new episodes since 2021, but its popularity hasn’t waned — at least based on the turnout for Saturday’s affair. Young kids eagerly presented their show memorabilia to a line of officers before the game to be signed, and fans sat enraptured with the action on the field, even though rain began to fall soon after the game began.

“For me, it’s always still strange,” said N.H. Conservation Officer Brad Jones, also the team’s manager. “I feel like I’m grabbing my lunch pail and going to work like I’m a plumber or a carpenter or something like that, so if someone wanted my autograph, it’s still kind of strange, but we obviously love seeing the support, seeing all the people come out just to see us play.”

For New Hampshire Lt. Bob Mancini, the show’s reach has exceeded any of his expectations.

“There was fanfare from across the country,” he said. “Certainly folks in the Granite State were excited about the show and what it brought to New Hampshire, showcasing the places that they lived and recreated. … Certainly from the New Hampshire Fish and Game perspective, it helped out with people understanding our mission for conserving and educating department-wide. We have a lot of different divisions within the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department, and all of them play an integral role in conserving, managing and protecting all wildlife in the state of New Hampshire.”

The annual softball game helped raise money for the International Wildlife Crime Stoppers, the Maine Operation Game Thief and the Conservation Officer Relief Association; it isn’t the only joint event the two organizations have held over the years.

They’ve competed against each other in the D.A.R.E. 5K Road Race and the Tough Mountain Challenge. More than just a good way to raise money for their various organizations, it’s an opportunity for them to take a short break from their hectic schedules and gather together under the common interest of protecting wildlife and enforcing fish and game laws.

“It’s as much of a brotherhood as it is amongst our own,” Simmons said of the relationship between the two states’ agencies. “We talk tough and all that, but playing against these guys is just like playing against your best friends. New Hampshire game wardens to us are pretty near and dear to our heart, so being able to do this every year where we can all get together and with our families and have a day together where we can put the stress of the job behind us, it’s one of the things that we look the most forward to doing, at least the game wardens in Maine do. We look so forward to having this game every year against the New Hampshire guys.”

“It’s exciting to have great relationships with other agencies that focus on conservation law enforcement. It’s unique that we get to have these experiences where we’re having competitive events against them,” Mancini added. “It just makes you be a kid for a day, and there’s nothing wrong with that.”