News Photo by Julie Riddle Jessie Curtis, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources conservation officer for Alpena County, stands with her mobile office, prepared to patrol the county’s back roads and wild places.

ALPENA — The vast and beautiful woods and waters of Alpena County are safer because Michigan Department of Natural Resources Conservation Officer Jessie Curtis is on the job.

Growing up with a father in law enforcement, Curtis always knew she wanted to follow in his footsteps. Opportunities to hunt and fish in her youth developed a love of nature, making conservation work a natural fit.

Earning a DNR uniform required completion of the police academy, a six-month boot-camp experience in which she went through the same training as Michigan State Police troopers, with the addition of coursework in natural resources. Another six months of on-the-job training helped prepare Curtis, 24, for the two-pronged job of protecting our natural resources while filling all the functions of any other law enforcement officer.

First assigned to a post downstate, Curtis primarily handled drug-related law enforcement, off-road vehicle citations and fishing licenses, worthwhile but city-centric functions that left her yearning for the natural resources work that originally drew her to the job.

In November, Curtis transferred to Alpena County, and she now serves as one of two DNR officers responsible for patrolling the woods and many back roads in the area.

The move north has given the officer all the nature-based work she likes, and then some. Working through snowmobile and elk seasons since her arrival has given her a taste of Up North life, Curtis said.

“I like the fact that I can go and do general criminal stuff and the same day go and rescue a snowy owl,” Curtis said, appreciating the flexibility of her work and the interaction with both humans and animals.

“You just never know what you’re going to run into,” the conservation officer said. “You could handle drunk drivers, and then you’ll find orphaned raccoons that you have to take to the rehabbers. It’s great, just being able to do everything.”

A thorough knowledge of trails and back roads allows DNR officers to be first on the scene for all kinds of calls, from domestic violence scenarios to injured snowmobilers. Their extensive law enforcement training prepares them to be every bit the uniformed officer as those found on city streets — troopers of the woods, Curtis has heard them called. She works in conjunction with other area law enforcement agencies, officers helping each other with calls and sharing information in what Curtis calls a great partnership.

A DNR officer’s office is his or her truck, his or her workspace the woods and wild places of Michigan.

With only two officers stationed in most counties, Curtis has been told that DNR officers are like unicorns, a rare sight to see because their work is usually done among the trees, in the little-explored places of the county.

On a recent stop at a local fast food restaurant for lunch, Curtis recounts, a customer looked at her uniform with puzzlement, asking if she was from downstate.

“I’ve never seen one of you guys before,” the customer told Curtis when told her job title.

The work comes naturally to the downstater with a heart for nature and law enforcement. The most important thing to remember when doing her job, Curtis said, is how to talk to people.

Lessons learned from her law enforcement-experienced father have helped her develop a strategy that has served her well, downstate and here where she works for the people of the north.

“My dad told me this, and usually it rings true,” Curtis said, “‘Treat everyone the way you’d want your grandma to be treated.’ And usually, people are pretty nice.”

Julie Riddle can be reached at 989-358-5693 or jriddle@thealpenanews.com.