"Yes, I'm one of THOSE people."

I found this photo on Pinterest.
I love the quote.

When I decided to go to college to pursue my dream of one day becoming a Department of Natural Resources Warden, I knew that I would get mixed reactions/responses when I told people what I was going to school for.

Occasionally, I get a,

"That's great!"

Or a,

"You'll fit into that job so well!"

In response to telling people that I want to be a DNR Warden.

But a majority of the time, I get a response of,

"Oh, so you're one of those people."

That response used to get under my skin so much, but now I just chuckle at it. Because as stated before, I knew going into this profession that I would get mixed reactions/responses from people. 

While I am able to laugh at the response now, it still tends to get under my skin at points. I have always had a love for the outdoors, and have always respected the work that the DNR has done; which were some of my main reasons of going to college to pursue this career. A DNR Wardens job is highly demanding...

They have to work through different seasons (weather, as well as hunting/fishing/trapping), battle different elements throughout those seasons, be able to navigate through the land, enforce the different laws, make sure that the environment is kept up to its best, monitor animal population levels, and deal with different people everyday.

These are just a few of the responsibilities that a DNR Warden has to take on when they decide to pursue this profession.

I have encountered a lot of people that have spoken badly about the DNR, either saying that the wardens are just out to "ruin fun", or that they are just screwing up the environment more than they are trying to help it. Understandably, not everybody agrees with every decision the DNR makes, or every action that they do. Even I don't agree with it all. However, I still don't believe that gives anybody the reason to trash talk the DNR, and say that we would be better off without them.

I couldn't even imagine the havoc that would happen if the DNR wasn't in play. There wouldn't be any set hunting/fishing seasons, numerous animal populations would dwindle, local land would decrease in natural vegetation, and don't even get me started on how many more hunting accidents there would be...

I believe that the DNR plays a huge role in everybody's day-to-day life, whether people want to believe it or not. DNR Wardens are out on the front line every single day, hunting/fishing/trapping season or not, making sure that animal/plant populations are doing okay, figuring out ways to bring population levels back up to adequate levels, making sure that the environment is safe to be in and cleaning it up when it isn't, checking in on hunters/fishers/trappers during the seasons to make sure that they are safely and accurately following the set laws so that nobody ends up getting hurt, and so much more.

I am highly passionate about finishing school and becoming a Department of Natural Resources Warden. I've said it once before and I'll say it again, I respect the work that they do. They risk their lives day in and day out to make sure that the environment, and that the people who are interacting with the environment, are safe. I want to stand on the front lines with them one day, and be proudly say that I am a DNR Warden.