New Mexico Department of Game and Fish
Public contact, Information Center: (888) 248-6866
Media contact, Tristanna Bickford: (505) 476-8027
tristanna.bickford@state.nm.us
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, MARCH 18, 2021:
Department recruiting Conservation Officers
SANTA FE – The Department of Game and Fish is seeking qualified men and women to become conservation officers, who protect and conserve New Mexico’s wildlife.
The Department is currently accepting applications for conservation officer trainees with a starting pay of $18.33 an hour. Upon completing training, officers will be promoted to District Wildlife Officer and receive a pay raise to $20.70 an hour. Applications for this position will be accepted until 5 p.m. April 18, 2021. Physical assessments and interviews will take place May 1 and 2, 2021 in Santa Fe. Candidates who advance past the interviews may be required to stay in Santa Fe until May 5, 2021, for further testing. Please see the Department’s conservation officers career advancement webpage details on the hiring timeline, study guides and the physical requirements.
Prior law enforcement experience is not required. Successful applicants must possess a qualifying bachelor’s degree and provide documentation of the degree by May 1, 2021. A list of qualifying degrees can be found on the Department’s conservation officers career advancement webpage. Aside from a written exam, oral interview and fitness test, successful candidates must also pass a psychological exam, medical exam, background investigation and drug test.
Upon hiring, recruits will receive basic training at the law enforcement academy, Department’s recruit school and 14 weeks of on-the-job field training before working alone in the field. Conservation officers are charged with enforcing New Mexico’s game and fish laws, educating the public about wildlife and wildlife management, conducting wildlife surveys, capturing “problem animals,” investigating wildlife damage to crops and property, assisting in wildlife relocations and helping develop new hunting, fishing and trapping regulations. The training is rigorous and the work is often difficult, requiring sound judgement, a good work ethic and common sense.
“The Department is seeking highly motivated personnel who are up to the challenge this career represents,” says recruiting officer Captain Ty Jackson. “Conservation officers primarily work alone in the most remote regions of the state and are often stationed in small towns.”
Interested applicants can get more information about conservation officer duties, educational and physical requirements, training and employee benefits by visiting the Department’s conservation officers career advancement webpage or contacting Captain Ty Jackson at Ty.Jackson@state.nm.us.
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