Conservation Officer Appreciation Day is Saturday

Training Academy No. 13 is underway; follow the conservation officer recruits’ week-to-week journey

As fully licensed law enforcement officers who serve a unique role in our state’s law enforcement community, Michigan Department of Natural Resources conservation officers receive additional training to protect fish and wildlife, state parks and forests, rivers, lakes and streams – and the people who enjoy them. In honor of the 250 men and women who currently patrol all 83 counties of Michigan and who swore under oath to faithfully enforce the laws of Michigan and the rules and regulations related to Michigan’s natural resources, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer proclaimed Saturday, March 15, as Conservation Officer Appreciation Day. The proclamation, in part, shares that: The State of Michigan considers the protection of its citizens, environment and cultural and natural resources to be among its highest priorities. Conservation officers continuously adapt to successfully meet emerging challenges, accept new missions and deliver premier customer service. These officers serve with bravery, honor and distinction in locations ranging from urban communities to the deep woods and the Great Lakes. “DNR conservation officers work hard every day to protect Michigan’s natural resources and the millions of visitors who value them. Their work is as much a calling as it is a job,” said DNR Director Scott Bowen. These officers serve as front-line protectors, helping to ensure that the next generation can safely, successfully enjoy hunts that put food on the table, camping trips, hikes and other adventures on scenic public lands, and responsible participation in boating, off-road vehicle riding, snowmobiling and other outdoor pursuits. In 2024, DNR conservation officers connected with more than 453,000 people through their patrols and outreach, in a job that is anything but predictable. A shift might begin at 3 a.m., gearing up in green with hunter orange and silently leaving home to ensure they are in the woods before the first shots of opening day, or responding to reports of ORV trespassing, illegal hunting from vehicles with loaded and uncased firearms, and hunters or hikers who didn’t return home on time. Sometimes it’s about celebrating an angler’s first catch or rewarding young boaters for properly wearing their life jackets. “Conservation officers respond where they are needed, when they are needed,” Bowen said. Michigan conservation officers are fully licensed law enforcement officers who provide natural resources protection, ensure recreational safety, and protect residents through general law enforcement and conducting lifesaving operations in the communities they serve. Learn more at Michigan.gov/ConservationOfficers and follow our weekly blog with updates from the conservation officer recruits in Training Academy No. 13, underway now in Lansing.

Note to editors: Accompanying photos are available below for download. Caption information follows.

Duck: Conservation Officer Sydney Griffor verifies a northern pintail, successfully taken in St. Clair County.

Officers: Sgt. Kyle Bucholtz and Conservation Officer Marissa Sturtevant check for anglers on a spring day in Huron County.

Teaching: Conservation Officer Anna Cullen presents a fur kit to a group of young students in Muskegon County.

First cougar cubs verified in Michigan in more than a century

For the first time in more than 100 years, cougar cubs have been discovered living in the Michigan wild.

State biologists on Wednesday confirmed the existence of two cougar cubs on private land in Ontonagon County in the western Upper Peninsula. The spotted cubs, believed to be 7 to 9 weeks old, were verified from photographic evidence of the cubs taken March 6 by a local resident.

This is the first time cougar cubs have been verified since the big cats were hunted out of existence in Michigan in the early 1900s, said Brian Roell, large carnivore specialist for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. Roell, a wildlife biologist for 26 years, led the team that verified the cubs.

“It’s pretty exciting, considering this could be the first known cougar reproduction in modern times in the western Great Lakes states,” said Roell, referring to Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota. “It really shows that we have a unique place in Michigan where someone has a chance to see a wolf, a moose and a cougar in the wild. It’s something that should be celebrated, that we have the habitat to support an elusive animal like this.”

The cubs were spotted and photographed without their mother. Cougar cubs are highly dependent on their mothers, often staying with them for the first two years of life.

Although cougars are native to Michigan, most of them now appear to be transient animals, dispersing into Michigan from Western states. The DNR has verified 132 adult cougar reports, Roell said, but DNA testing has confirmed only male cougars to date.

The cubs have not been spotted since March 6. “Those young cougars are very vulnerable right now,” Roell said. “We don’t know where they are or if they’re even alive. Mother Nature can be very cruel.”

Sightings can be logged in the DNR’s Eyes in the Field reporting system. Roell said cougars are on the list of endangered mammals in Michigan, meaning it’s illegal to hunt or harass them, which includes trying to locate their den. It’s also illegal to trespass on private property, he noted.

For the latest information on cougars, including the DNR’s cougar sightings photo page, visit Michigan.gov/Cougar.

Note to editors: Accompanying photos, contributed by a resident who wishes to remain anonymous, are available below for download.

• Cougar cubs 1
• Cougar cubs 2
• Cougar cubs 3