Conservation officers are fully commissioned peace officers, empowered to enforce all laws of the state of Michigan, and with good reason. They support and assist other state and local law enforcement in a variety of domestic, traffic and public safety situations, as well as sometimes helping the US Coast Guard with marine patrols and border safety issues.

Conservation officers are a special kind of officer, they need to know constitutional law. They also need to be able to identify every species of Michigan fish. They must be able to safely effect a felony arrest as well as field-dress a white-tailed deer and load it into a patrol truck by themselves. It's a demanding job.

Conservation officers hired by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources undergo nearly 10 months of extensive recruit training. The first part is intensive police recruit school academy conducted at the Michigan State Police training facility near Lansing. The intensive 22-week program was designed by the DNR Law Enforcement Division and is one of only three training academies in the state certified by the Michigan Commission on Law Enforcement Standards (MCOLES).