The Department of Fish and Game (DFG) is teaming with Butte College to provide peace officer training for prospective Fish and Game Wardens. This new partnership secures an academy facility and POST-certified training program for Fish and Game Warden Cadets on the college's Oroville campus.

The first academy class begins Feb. 4, 2008, and is tentatively scheduled to be a 30-week course.

"Butte College was chosen for its outstanding police training facility and program," said DFG Director Ryan Broddrick. "Our game wardens go through the Basic law enforcement training required of all peace officers plus extended classes on natural resource management and fish and game laws. The college's history and commitment to academic excellence are a perfect fit for DFG's law enforcement program."

Butte College has a 39-year history of police recruit training, and has trained more than 5,000 students through its law enforcement academy. The 928-acre campus, the largest in California, is also a designated wildlife refuge.

"Fish and Game Wardens work on land and water, in urban and remote areas, and encounter wildlife poachers as well as marijuana growers, so their training must be rigorous to help prepare them for any law enforcement situation," said DFG Enforcement Chief Nancy Foley. "The Warden Academy program we are building with president Diana VanDerPloeg and the staff of Butte College will deliver the highest standard of academic and physical training to our Cadets," Foley added.

The academy at Butte College will be able to accommodate 40 cadets per class twice a year. The College will accept non DFG-sponsored law enforcement students into resource academy training classes if there are unfilled spaces available.

For more information on a career as a Fish and Game Warden, contact Lt. Jeff Longwell at 916-653-7726. Questions regarding the college's training facility and academic programs can be directed to Butte College academy director, Mike Dunbaugh, at 530-879-4349.