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Ohio's wildlife officers spend much of their time working in the field, enforcing hunting and fishing regulations, investigating allegations of waterway pollution, protecting state lands and natural resources, and conducting surveillance.
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State puts out the call for new wildlife officers

The Blade

State puts out the call for new wildlife officers

COLUMBUS — After the spokesman from the Ohio Division of Wildlife completed his presentation to a group of Ohio State University students studying in the wildlife and natural resources fields, he asked for questions.

An extended and awkward pause followed before Kelsey Brockman, a natural resources management major from Fort Recovery, raised her hand and wanted to know how many female wildlife officers were working for the state of Ohio.

“Four ... and you can be the fifth,” she recalled the speaker, Jim Quinlivan, responding.

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“I’m not sure he meant it that way, but I took it as a challenge,” Brockman said. “I had always been interested in the outdoors, but without much experience in hunting and fishing, I didn’t think I’d make the grade.”

But Brockman applied to be a wildlife officer, was accepted, received her degree from OSU in December, 2013, and started in the cadet training academy in January.

“The job interested me because it was a non-traditional type of law enforcement. I had been an instructor in 4-H and liked working with kids and teaching them how to shoot, so I liked the educational aspect, too,” she said. “Although I might not be the typical candidate, I thought this might me something I could do and enjoy.”

Two promotions later, the 26-year-old Brockman is working as an investigator with the Division of Wildlife’s Lake Erie Enforcement Unit, and the state is looking for more wildlife officers. Applications are being accepted through Monday, April 2, as the Division of Wildlife works to fill 11 vacant state wildlife officer positions throughout Ohio. The division’s organizational plan calls for one officer to be assigned to each of Ohio’s 88 counties.

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These officers, historically referred to as game wardens, have statewide jurisdiction to enforce wildlife regulations, investigate allegations of waterway pollution, protect state lands and property, conduct investigations, and make arrests. They also conduct educational programs, provide technical advice on wildlife to landowners, and keep local agencies and conservation organizations updated on wildlife projects and regulations.

“The job involves something different every day, and that is one of the things that interested me the most,” said Austin Dickinson, a member of that same 2014 training class as Brockman and currently the wildlife officer assigned to Seneca County. “You get to spend a lot of time outdoors, you experience the seasons changing, and you are always moving on to the next challenge, the next assignment.”

Wildlife officers usually work alone and frequently find themselves off the main highways. Candidates for the job must be at least 21 by the end of this year and possess a valid driver’s license. There are also education and fitness requirements. More information is available at the wildohio.gov/wildohiocareers and careers.ohio.gov websites.

After a law enforcement phase, the training focuses on the wildlife-related aspects of the job. Once both of those programs are completed, new wildlife officers ride with an experienced officer for several months, and then are very closely supervised for several additional months.

“All of that training and working with veteran officers definitely helped prepare us for what we see in the field,” Brockman said. “You learn the most working with the experienced officers — there’s just no way to learn some of this in a classroom.”

Dickinson, a 29-year-old native of Iowa who served as an officer in the U.S. Army and is also a captain in the National Guard, said he grew up involved with hunting and fishing and moved to Ohio while in high school. He was stationed in Qatar when he learned about the vacancies in the Division of Wildlife.

“It came at the right time for me. I applied from overseas, and then took the written test the day after I got back to the U.S.,” he said. “There was a game warden that lived right down the street from me so I knew a lot about the job, and this was something I’d wanted to do since I was a little kid.”

Quinlivan, a Maumee native who heads up the training program for the Division of Wildlife, said the role of the officers has changed significantly in the past couple of decades, with many innovations involving new technology and techniques.

“One constant is that we are always looking for the best field of candidates to fill these vacancies,” he said. “This is a unique occupation and a tight-knit group of professionals that train together and work together in what we consider a very rewarding career.”

“It has definitely exceeded my expectations and I would encourage anyone who is interested to definitely step up and take on the challenge,” Brockman said. “For me, I think this is the best job in the world and I’m glad I stumbled into it. It’s been an absolute blessing.”

Contact Blade outdoors editor Matt Markey at mmarkey@theblade.com or 419-724-6068.

First Published March 26, 2018, 8:30 p.m.

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