Northwest College seeks to add conservation law enforcement program

Posted 12/13/18

Northwest College hopes to add a new program that would help prepare students to be game wardens or other conservation-oriented positions in law enforcement.

The NWC Board of Trustees voted …

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Northwest College seeks to add conservation law enforcement program

Posted

Northwest College hopes to add a new program that would help prepare students to be game wardens or other conservation-oriented positions in law enforcement.

The NWC Board of Trustees voted Monday to add a conservation law enforcement degree to the college’s curriculum. If the offering is also approved by the Wyoming Community College Commission (WCCC), the two-year, 60-credit, skill-based law enforcement program would debut in the fall 2019 semester.

NWC President Stefani Hicswa told trustees that the proposed program has already received positive feedback. In mentioning the possibility to a U.S. Forest Service supervisor and a local game warden, “they are just thrilled to have this resource,” Hicswa said. NWC Criminal Justice Instructor Tony Enerva “has already developed a network with some of the leaders in this industry,” Hicswa said.

Enerva told the trustees that NWC would be just the seventh college in the U.S. to offer a degree program in conservation law enforcement; it would be focused toward both traditional and non-traditional students.

“There’s only five or six of these degree programs in the whole country,” Enerva said. “We would be No. 7 if you pass it and the WCCC passes it this year. No other degree program like this exists in Wyoming, so I think we’re very lucky to move forward with this.”

A degree in conservation law enforcement would prepare graduates for law enforcement careers at the local, state and federal levels. The list of law enforcement positions available would include the National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Wyoming Game and Fish.

“For the most part, the two-year degree will be a terminal degree for most of our students,” Enerva said, though he said a couple agencies — namely Wyoming Game and Fish and BLM — do require a four-year degree. Law enforcement is “all about training, credentials and certification,” Enerva said. “This is the first step.”

Among the courses that the degree would consist of would be Firearms I and II, Criminal Investigations, Environmental Law, Wilderness First Aid, Basic Search and Rescue, Range Management and Wildlife Management.

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