Doc,, I can't add much except to say that I too agree with all the above posters who know you did the right thing.
I teach Hunter Safety,, and "ethics" is a part of the class.
I'm gonna use this as a "what would you do?" lesson.
Now, if it had been me,,, I would NOT have argued with the warden,, but rather placed a call to his district supervisor & explained what happened. I would have politely explained everything,, and asked for his opinion. If the supervisor was any kind of a good warden,,, he may have been able to get your tag returned.
But,,, if he chose to stand behind the warden,, then I would have politely informed him that I would no longer seek any help from the wardens,, nor could they expect me to offer any information when I saw any "real" violations. I would politely explain that I had lost trust in them.