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
- Great Lakes Enforcement Unit (GLEU)
- Special Investigations Unit (SIU)
- Recreational Safety Programs
- Employment, Training, & Legal
(Note, Wildlife Resource Protection unit became individual Investigative Unit [SIU] and Commercial Fish unit [GLEU])
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 State Employees 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
(Note, Detective and Corporal are the same payscale,)
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).
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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