Conservation Officer?

Question

What do they do?How much money do they make?How would i become one?

Answer 1

They are a law enforcement officer for fishing, hunting, etc, etc. They are very low paid, say, about $25-35K. I do not think a degree is necessary. Might be a good gig if you love the outdoors and and are not materialistic, as you won't have any extra money.

Answer 2

What a Conservation Officer does depends on the Province/State you work in, the mandate of the department, and your location. Alot of Provinces have started to become specialized but some still do a variety of work. I work as a Conservation officer for a department that does it all.

There are three main branches that we cover;

Provincial Parks, Fish& Wildlife, and Forest Fires.

For the Provincial Parks we do the enforcement of all the Acts and Regs associated with the parks.

Our main job here is park safety and security, but we have other jobs in the park. Cottage inspections,  issuance of permits and inspections of work sites in the park is part of our job. We also look after the forestry in and outside the park as well from an enforcement perspective.

When it comes to Fish and Wildlife the main tasks that we have are Fishery Patrols, and Hunter Patrols in the fall. Fishery patrols are done throughout the year but land, water, ice, and sometimes by plane. Also investigations into improper use of our resources are conducted.  There are many other tasks with regard to fish and wildlife but here are the main ones.

When it comes to forest fires, Conservation Officers cover several roles. They can be front line on the fire suppression, detection, or investigation. There are many other minor and major jobs that are done with Forest Fires but those are the main ones you will see.

Now not all departments cover everything I have just said some do but many have become more streamline and just cover Fish and Wildlife. So it really depends on the Province or State that your in. You also could be called upon to do search and rescue or other tasks as seen fit.

Now what a Conservation Officer makes can depend on the province/state and what level in the conservation officer series that you are. A ball park figure would be 33, 000 to 70,000. This figure covers most provinces.

To become one depends on what your province/state is looking for. Some agencies just want a diploma but more and more are going towards a degree. The diploma needs to be geared towards Resource law enforcement. Saskatchewan has a few good programs for that. SIAST in Prince Albert, SK has Resource & Environmental Law (REL) and in Regina the University of Regina  and First Nations University of Canada have a BA in Resource and Environmental Studies (BARES) which is also a good program. In Alberta they have an applied degree at Lethbridge called Conservation Enforcement I believe. In BC the have a diploma and degree program at malasapina. Manitoba has a diploma program in The Pas. In Eastern Canada I am not too sure what the programs are called and where they are.

Once you have the training from school, you normally do seasonal posistions for awhile and then you have a chance at getting fulltime. Right now in Western Canada its a good time to get on full time. There is alot of openings due to the baby boomers retirements so getting on fulltime is happening faster.

Hope this helps

Answer 3

From the link below (click on 'Preview Exam'):

"The ideal candidate will have a Bachelor’s degree or higher in fish and/or wildlife management. If you have a degree, include this in your response with the school, degree and date of graduation."

It sounds like an interesting and rewarding career, with room for advancement and a chance to work pretty much anywhere in the country you please.