DNR promotes two conservation officers

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DNR promotes two conservation officers
(Released April 5, 2012)

Two conservation officers with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) have recently been promoted, the agency said.
Lt. Cory Palmer was promoted to captain and named the Region 4 Enforcement manager based in New Ulm.

Lt. Tom Provost was promoted to captain and named the standards and training manager at the DNR Enforcement Education and Training Center at Camp Ripley.

“This is a very special time for two men who have dedicated their lives to public service,” said Col. Jim Konrad, DNR Enforcement Division director. “They each bring a lot to the table. We expect great things from both of them.”

Palmer, a Nebraska native, graduated from Minnesota State University, Mankato, with a degree in law enforcement in 1997. He worked as a police officer in St. Cloud before becoming a conservation officer in 1998, initially serving in the Big Lake and Litchfield field stations before being promoted to a DNR Enforcement Division district supervisor in the New Ulm area in 2006. His other DNR experiences include serving as a field training officer, background investigator, and Enforcement Division arson team coordinator. The 14-year DNR veteran has also completed FBI Executive Leadership Training, DNR Leadership School, and DNR Supervisor School.

Provost graduated from North Dakota State University with a degree in wildlife biology, and from the University of North Dakota with a degree in criminal justice studies, before joining the DNR 1989. He began his career as a research assistant in DNR Wildlife’s Wetlands Research Group before being hired by DNR Enforcement in 1991 as a field officer in northwestern Minnesota. He was promoted to district supervisor in the Brainerd area in 1998. Provost is a 2008 graduate of the prestigious Northwestern University School of Police Staff and Command.

Both men say they are looking forward to the challenge of their new duties.