- Michigan Conservation Officers
-
Michigan Department Of Natural Resources Law Enforcement Division Abbreviation LED 
Michigan Department of Natural Resources Law Enforcement Division Door Decal Agency overview Formed 1887 Employees 230 Annual budget $33,020,000.00 (2011-12) Legal personality Governmental: Government agency Jurisdictional structure Operations jurisdiction* State of Michigan, USA 
Map of Michigan Department Of Natural Resources Law Enforcement Division's jurisdiction. Size 97,990 square miles (253,800 km2) Population 9,883,640 (2010 est.)[1] General nature Operational structure Headquarters Lansing, Michigan Peace Officer Conservation Officers 230 Agency executive Gary Hagler, Director Districts 9 Website ht-p://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,1607,7-153-42199---,00.html Footnotes * Divisional agency: Division of the country, over which the agency has usual operational jurisdiction. Michigan Conservation Officers 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. Since Michigan Conservation Officers are fully commissioned peace officers they are empowered to enforce all the laws of the state of Michigan. Many states and nations have Conservation officers but use the term game warden. The terms are synonymous with each other and both have the same job duties. The Michigan Conservation Officers work closely with local police departments, Michigan 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 many other state, federal, and foreign agencies.
Contents
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.
Personnel
The Law Enforcement Division of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources has approximately 230 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 in 2007. The academy concluded February 2007. At that time they added 14 new conservation officers.[5]
Rank Structure
Title Insignia Chief 
Captain 
Lieutenant 
Sergeant 
Corporal 
Officer Recruit Budget
Fiscal Year DNR Budget Law Enforcement Budget Pct. of DNR Budget 2008–2009 265,383,333.00 31,846,000.00 12% 2009–2010 298,572,300.00 28,629,000.00 10%[6] 2010-2011 307,400,000.00 31,627,500.00 10%[7] 2011-2012 330,200,000.00 33,020,000.00 10% 2012-2013 336,500,000.00 33,650,000.00 10% Vehicles
The conservation officers use the Chevrolet Silverado and Chevrolet Tahoe as patrol vehicles. They also use patrol boats that range in size when they patrol the Great Lakes, inland lakes, rivers, and streams. Other motorized vehicles used include snowmobiles and All Terrain Vehicles or (ATV).
Fallen Officers
From 1908 to date the Michigan Conservation Officers have lost 10 officers in the line of duty.[8] 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.[8]
Training
Due to budget issues the MDNR Law Enforcement Division have not held a recruit academy since 2007. Instead, once an individual is selected for the position of Conservation Officer and the individual is not certified by MCOLES the MDNR pays the individual to complete the required MCOLES Academy. They then complete the MDNR Environmental Law Enforcement courses. If the individual is MCOLES certified the individual goes through training courses focusing on Environmental Law Enforcement.
Based on the State of Michigan imposing budget restrictions on the LED of the DNR applicants now no longer go through the following process. 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. [1]
Other
MDNR Report All Poaching Hotline RAP 1-800-292-7800
Notes
- ^ http://2010.census.gov/2010census/data/
- ^ Conservation and Protection of Michigan's Natural Resources, Michigan DNR Website.
- ^ How to Become a Conservation Officer, Department of Natural Resources.
- ^ Michigan Conservation Officer Association.
- ^ Recruit Academy Article.
- ^ DNR Budget Overview.
- ^ http://www.michigan.gov/documents/budget/budget20small_267048_7.pdf
- ^ a b Fallen Officers, Michigan Conservation Officers Association.
See also
- Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Environment
Further reading
External links
Categories:- Law enforcement agencies of Michigan
- State law enforcement agencies of Michigan
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
