BEMIDJI -- Minnesota Department of Natural Resources conservation officer Hannah Mishler has been named DNR Conservation Officer of the Year, an annual award given to an officer for outstanding overall career performance.
Mishler, who is stationed in Bemidji, has been a conservation officer since 2014. She and her K9 partner Storm are part of the Enforcement Division’s K9 Unit, and Mishler also routinely assists with teaching new conservation officers at Academies at Camp Ripley. She’s also an arson investigator and devotes time to helping other law enforcement personnel as part of the Enforcement Division’s peer support team, a release said.
“Our conservation officers do an amazing job of protecting Minnesota’s people and natural resources every day,” DNR Commissioner Sarah Strommen said in the release. “We ask a lot of our officers and they always answer the call. CO Mishler embodies what it means to be a conservation officer, and pushes a bar that’s already been set high even higher.”
Col. Rodmen Smith, director of the DNR Enforcement Division, recently presented awards to Mishler and other honored DNR officers.
“In her time with the DNR, CO Mishler has proven herself to be an exceptional officer who’s always willing to help her partners and do what it takes to get the job done," Smith said in the release. "She’s highly visible in her community -- whether she’s in the woods, on the water or sharing her passion for the outdoors at public events -- and positively reflects the values and mission of the Enforcement Division and the department as a whole.”
