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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Jan. 8, 2016
Contact: 1st Lt. Steve Burton, 517-284-5993
Follow DNR’s conservation officer academy through weekly blog updates
Twenty-four potential new conservation officers, two women and 22 men, reported Sunday in Lansing to attend the Department of Natural Resources' conservation officer training academy.
The recruits will complete a 22-week training academy that includes 14 weeks of basic police training and eight weeks of more specialized conservation officer training. Following graduation, the probationary conservation officers will then need to complete 18 weeks of field training, working side by side with veteran officers.
“Conservation officers protect Michigan’s natural resources, assist in rural and urban community policing and often serve as first responders in the communities they serve,” said Gary Hagler, chief of the DNR’s Law Enforcement Division.
Follow the challenges and accomplishments of these men and women as they navigate the academy. Subscribe to the weekly conservation officer academy blog, which will also be posted weekly on the Michigan DNR Facebook page.
Here is the first blog entry:
DNR conservation officer training academy: The 22-week challenge
On Sunday night, Jan. 3, Sgt. Jason Wicklund issued a challenge to the 24 new recruits who, just a short time earlier, had reported for the Department of Natural Resources conservation officer training academy in Lansing.
The exceptional challenge? To prove him wrong. It wasn’t to be taken lightly.
 Sgt. Wicklund, recruit school commander, had just relayed to the class that they were going through the same academy as many of the Michigan conservation officers before them – sitting in the same seats, eating in the same mess hall, enduring the same grueling physical training and taking the same challenging written tests.
“You are charged with carrying on the traditions of the DNR Law Enforcement Division for the benefit of future generations,” he said as he looked around the room. “You are the best, chosen from over 250 candidates. I expect you to succeed. But this fact stands true – not all of you will make it. Every single class has lost recruits. My first challenge to you: Prove me wrong.”
If they do, it’ll happen June 3, 2016 when the recruits graduate as probationary conservation officers and begin their additional 18 weeks of training in the field. But now, to these recruits, June 3 might as well be a lifetime away.
They will be challenged many more times over the next 22 weeks of the academy. They’ll be challenged physically as they run for miles in formation in all weather conditions, including in heavy snow and below freezing temperatures, and as they power through an ice bath to simulate what could potentially be experienced during an ice rescue. And, they’ll be challenged academically as they complete the same Michigan Commission on Law Enforcement Standards (MCOLES) exams as Michigan police officers and receive extensive training and testing in natural resources and conservation law.
 The 24 recruits had reported to the academy just shy of 6 p.m. that Sunday, lining up in front of the state police academy building. They were met by Sgt. Wicklund and Cpl. Brad Dohm, the academy’s lead physical fitness instructor.
After assembling in the classroom for staff introductions and words of encouragement, Cpl. Dohm gave the recruits seven minutes to charge up seven flights of stairs, change into their academy uniform, and line up back in the hallway (seven flights of stairs down) in alphabetical order. If they were missing any part of their uniform including belt or nametag, the recruits were sent back up to get it. If their room door wasn’t locked, they were sent back up to lock it. The seven minutes went by quickly. At the end of their allotted time, Cpl. Dohm gave the recruits their first instructions on proper marching and room entry procedures. Then, it was lights out at 10 p.m.
Tomorrow, at 5 a.m. sharp, it would all begin.
/Note to editors: Accompanying photos are available below for download. Caption information follows.
Living Quarters.jpg: Sunday evening, the recruits stepped into what would be their living quarters for the next 22 weeks. They also viewed an “inspection ready” room – an example of exactly how their living quarters are expected to look every morning during inspection. Everything in their rooms will be inspected for cleanliness and uniformity, from the distance between their hat and Sam Browne duty belt set on their bed to the order of and distance between clothes hanging in the closet. The duty belt carries all the tools a conservation officer will need to do his or her job, including firearm, baton, Taser and much more. The recruits will be issued all of these items at various points of the academy as they become proficient and certified to carry them.
Standing at Attention.jpg: After lining up in alphabetical order, the 22 men and two women stood at attention as they awaited their first marching orders./
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources is committed to the conservation, protection, management, use and enjoyment of the state’s natural and cultural resources for current and future generations. For more information, go to www.michigan.gov/dnr.
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