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ST. PAUL — Eighteen people graduated Sept. 13 from the 21st Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Conservation Officer Academy, after training for 16 weeks in all aspects of their new careers as conservation officers. The graduates already have spread out across the state and will spend the next several months field training with experienced conservation officers before assuming their assigned stations.
The officers have a wide variety of backgrounds and experiences. Some are veterans, while others left jobs as police officers to join the DNR, including Worthington’s Dustin Roemeling. Others worked as firefighters or dispatchers. Some had no previous law enforcement experience, coming to the DNR via the Conservation Officer Prep program, which provides a pathway for people with at least a two-year college degree to become a conservation officer.
During the academy, recruits are trained in all aspects of being a conservation officer and learn from experienced officers and other experts on education and outreach, fish and wildlife laws, patrol procedures and environmental enforcement.
