Michigan Conservation Officers

Michigan Conservation Officers are conservation officers who are the enforcement branch of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. Their primary duty is to enforce the environmental laws in the State of Michigan. Michigan Conservation Officers are fully commissioned peace officers and are empowered to enforce all the laws of the state of Michigan.

Michigan Department Of Natural Resources Law Enforcement Division
AbbreviationLED
Agency overview
Formed1887
Employees239
Annual budget$40,400,000.00 (2015-2016)
Jurisdictional structure
Operations jurisdictionMichigan, USA
Size97,990 square miles (253,800 km2)
Population9,883,640 (2010 est.)[1]
General nature
Operational structure
HeadquartersLansing, Michigan
Peace Officer Conservation Officers219
Agency executive
  • Gary Hagler, Director
Districts9
Website
https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,4570,7-350-79136_79772_81097---,00.html

The Michigan Conservation Officers work with local police departments, sheriff's departments, the Michigan State Police, the U.S. Coast Guard, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the U.S. Forest Service Law Enforcement Division and other state, federal, and foreign agencies.

History

"Early Michigan citizens recognized the rich and vast natural treasures surrounding them and the need for their conservation and protection. The result was the nation's first salaried game warden, William Alden Smith, who was appointed in 1887.

Warden Smith was charged principally with appointing deputies for the enforcement of fish and game regulations. The mission of the DNR Law Enforcement Division has expanded substantially since Smith's appointment and now includes protection of all natural resources and the environment, as well as the health and safety of the public.

Today, "Conservation Officers" and other noncommissioned support staff direct their efforts to a wide array of responsibilities designed to support this broad mission. Enforcement, Education, Recreational Safety and Public Outreach represent some of the general categories of services.[2]

Department Overview

Structure

Michigan Conservation Officers fall under the Law Enforcement Division of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. Some states including Oregon and Alaska include environmental law enforcement under the Department of State Police. This allows resources to be combined and saves the states money by eliminating duplicate services. Combining the two departments also has some disadvantages. Most states don't combine the two departments. The Law Enforcement Division is broken down into a number of subsections. The subsections include:

  • Field Operations
  • Environmental Investigations
  • Emergency Management
  • Wildlife Resource Protection
  • Commercial Fish
  • Investigative
  • Recreational Safety Programs
  • Employment, Training, & Legal

Personnel

The Law Enforcement Division of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources has approximately 250 officers.[3]

They are represented in collective bargaining by a union, the Michigan Conservation Officer Association.[4] The last time the Law Enforcement Division (LED) of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources held a recruit academy was 2018. The academy concluded December 2018. At that time they added 24 new conservation officers.[5]

Rank Structure

2nd Lieutenant

Title Insignia
Chief
Assistant Chief
Captain
Lieutenant
Sergeant
Corporal
Officer
Recruit

Budget
Fiscal Year DNR Budget Law Enforcement Budget Pct. of DNR Budget
2008–2009 289,400,000.00 34,728,000.00 12%
2009–2010 282,300,000.00 28,230,000.00 10%[6]
2010-2011 300,900,000.00 30,090,000.00 10%[7]
2011-2012 304,300,000.00 30,430,000.00 10%
2012-2013 321,100,000.00 32,100,000.00 10%[8]
2013-2014 328,573,300.00 34,387,200.00 11%[8]
2014-2015 356,121,000.00 35,612,000.00 10%[8]
2015-2016 404,000,000.00 40,400,000.00 10%[9]
2016-2017
2017-2018
2018-2019

Transportation

Michigan conservation officers use the Chevrolet Silverado and Chevrolet Tahoe as patrol vehicles. They also use patrol boats, both motorized and human-powered, that range in size when they patrol the Great Lakes, inland lakes, rivers, and streams. Other vehicles used include snowmobiles and All Terrain Vehicles (ATVs).

Fallen Officers

From 1908 to date the Michigan Conservation Officers have lost 13 officers in the line of duty.[10][11] The sacrifice of these officers are customarily recognized on the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial or at North American Game Warden Museum on the Jurisdictional Plaque. There are also individual memorials scattered around the state.[10]

Training

In January 2014 the MDNR Law Enforcement Division commenced its first academy since 2007 with 31 recruits. This ended a nearly 7-year gap in recruit schools. During the gap, caused by budgetary issues, once an individual was selected for the position of Conservation Officer and the individual was not certified by MCOLES the MDNR paid the individual to complete the required MCOLES Academy. They then would complete the MDNR Environmental Law Enforcement courses. If the individual was MCOLES certified the individual would go through training courses focusing on Environmental Law Enforcement.

Once selected by the Department of Natural Resources through a rigorous selection process the recruits go through an intense 22-week live in training period. The live-in training is held at the Michigan State Police training facility in Lansing. Once completed, the recruits are then fully commissioned conservation officers. After the training, the new officers will be assigned a field-training officer for 18 weeks at a variety of locations around the state. Once the probation period is completed, the officers will be assigned to one of the 83 counties in Michigan. Michigan Conservation Officers are certified by the Michigan Commission on Law Enforcement Standards or MCOLES.

Other

MDNR Report All Poaching Hotline RAP 1-800-292-7800

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See also

Notes
  1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-01-02. Retrieved 2011-03-29.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. Conservation and Protection of Michigan's Natural Resources, Michigan DNR Website.
  3. How to Become a Conservation Officer, Department of Natural Resources.
  4. Michigan Conservation Officer Association.
  5. Recruit Academy Article.
  6. DNR Budget Overview.
  7. http://www.michigan.gov/documents/budget/budget20small_267048_7.pdf
  8. http://www.michigan.gov/documents/fund_source_149713_7.pdf?updated=12112012
  10. Fallen Officers, Michigan Conservation Officers Association.
  11. ODMP Announcement for Lt. Green

Further reading
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