Week of June 16, 2025
Halfway there.
The 13 conservation officer candidates are at the halfway point of their CO Academy training, which began at the end of April. They’ve learned a lot about what it takes and what it means to be a DNR conservation officer and are growing more every day in their confidence and readiness for the job.
During the eighth week of the CO Academy, the training focused primarily on emergency vehicle operations with their patrol trucks and all-terrain vehicle operation during the day and at night. COs use their patrol trucks every day, and ATVs are becoming increasingly important as more and more people in Minnesota use them, so gaining familiarity with all aspects of both vehicles is vital.
During their emergency vehicle operation course training, they learned about emergency response, pursuit, and conducting high-risk stops. ATV training consisted of loading/unloading the machines from their patrol vehicles, traffic stops, and emergency response training.
As with every week at the Academy, the end of the week included scenarios and exams on which the conservation officer candidates were graded.
With the seventh week of the Conservation Officer Academy at Camp Ripley now come and gone, the 13 conservation officer candidates are nearly halfway done with this part of their journey to becoming COs. They will complete the Academy in mid-August, then spread out across the state to train in the field with experienced officers until the end of the year.
The seventh week of the CO Academy included:
- Learning about COs’ role in enforcing environmental laws, including illegal dumping and fires, as well as air and water pollution. While these are outside COs’ core game and fish-related work, they’ve become increasingly important in recent years.
- Fire training with the Camp Ripley Fire Department.
- Lessons on the state’s trespass law, including its legal definition, methods for posting land, and some of the exemptions that exist for entering lands.
- Becoming familiar with the DNR’s K9 Unit and its many capabilities.
- Discussions about ginseng and state laws surrounding its collection.
- Learning about providing CPR, first aid, Narcan, and the use of EPI pens.
During the sixth week of the Conservation Officer Academy at Camp Ripley, the 13 conservation officer candidates spent a lot of time learning about some of the most foundational aspects of being a CO – conducting license (angling, big- and small-game, and waterfowl) and registration checks. The latter included gaining an understanding of what all-terrain vehicle, off-highway motorcycle and vehicle, and watercraft registrations look like.
In addition, the candidates were evaluated on their understanding of the laws and subjected to real-world scenarios. They also spent time training to identify a wide variety of fish and game species.
The conservation officer candidates now have completed four weeks of their CO Academy training. They’ve also begun their weekly scenario training, where they take what they’ve learned in the classroom and apply it to real situations they’re likely to encounter in the field. They’re evaluated on their performance during the scenarios. In addition, they learned about the various firearms actions, practiced interview techniques, and earned their ATV, firearms, and snowmobile safety training certification.
The conservation officer candidates now have completed four weeks of their CO Academy training. They’ve also begun their weekly scenario training, where they take what they’ve learned in the classroom and apply it to real situations they’re likely to encounter in the field. They’re evaluated on their performance during the scenarios. In addition, they learned about the various firearms actions, practiced interview techniques, and earned their ATV, firearms, and snowmobile safety training certification.
During the third week of the Academy, the 13 conservation officer candidates received training in the areas of defensive tactics, handguns, and shotguns. They spent most of their week in the gym or on the range. Such training is a key part of conservation officers’ daily readiness plan to ensure their safety as they work to protect Minnesota’s people and natural resources. In addition, the candidates also spent an evening with two of the officers who were part of the previous CO Academy to learn more about their experiences.
The 13 conservation officer candidates now have finished the first two weeks of the CO Academy at Camp Ripley. This week at the Academy included a variety of administrative tasks and got into the finer details of being a DNR conservation officer. A few of the highlights from the week follow.
The COCs:
- Received their state-issued trucks and worked on backing trailers.
- Practiced identifying common game and fish species in Minnesota.
- Trained on writing reports and communicating via radio.
- Discussed conservation officer authorities.
- Learned about collecting, photographing, and properly documenting evidence in the field.
The 2025 DNR Conservation Officer Academy kicked off April 28, 2025, with 13 recruits beginning 16 weeks of intensive training at Camp Ripley. During the first week, the conservation officer candidates spent much of their time learning about the Enforcement Division and its history, getting acclimated to the DNR in general, and getting to know their “litter mates.” They received specific training on items including their body worn cameras and working with the media. This year’s class of candidates includes seven individuals who came to DNR Enforcement via the CO Prep program, which is a pathway for those without previous law enforcement experience to become a conservation officer. Those seven people spent four months at Hennepin Technical College before starting at the CO Academy.
