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23 PA Fish & Boat Commission Waterways Conservation Officer trainees graduate from Mansfield Police Academy

MANSFIELD, Pa. (02/26/2025) — Twenty-three Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission Waterways Conservation Officer trainees graduated from Commonwealth University-Mansfield's Act 120 Police Academy in December.

Waterways Conservation Officers (WCO) are state officers specifically trained in fishery conservation, watercraft safety, and environmental protection. WCO's help to protect the Commonwealth's aquatic resources, the fish that inhabit them and the anglers and boaters that utilize them.

Trainees must complete a year-long program, which includes the Act 120 Municipal Police Officer certification provided at Mansfield. The majority of the training takes place at Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission's H.R. Stackhouse School of Fishery Conservation and Watercraft Safety located in Bellefonte.

The Mansfield Police Academy is the exclusive provider of Act 120 certification for the WCO training. The 2024 class represents the second set of WCO trainees to be certified at the Mansfield Academy held from September to December.

"The continued partnership between Commonwealth University and the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission underscores the excellence of Mansfield's Police Academy training," said Bashar W. Hanna, president of Commonwealth University. "We take great pride in equipping future Waterways Conservation Officers with the skills and knowledge they need to ensure public safety on Pennsylvania's waterways."

"Today's graduates have shown exceptional dedication and commitment to their training and now their expertise will ensure our waterways remain safe, vibrant and protected," State Sen. Gene Yaw (R-23) said. "I proudly extend my sincere congratulations to our newest Waterways Conservation Officers."

"Mansfield's police academy training is top-notch, and it's great to see the university teaming up with the Fish and Boat Commission again to help prepare the next generation of Waterways Conservation Officers," said State Rep. Clint Owlett (R-68). "These men and women have an important job to do in protecting our waterways and the public, and with the training they have received at Mansfield, they are well prepared to do so."

The WCO trainees who successfully completed the requirements of the Act 120 certification in the 2024 class include:

  • Jacob Alcorn, Venango
  • Jenna Alleman, Perry
  • Blake Anderson, Erie
  • Robert Angst, Montgomery
  • Kamron Bettinger, York
  • David Brockett, Venango
  • Andrew Callahan, Erie
  • Krystal Daniele, Luzerne
  • Colton Dinges, Blair
  • Jeffrey Finch, Potter
  • Andrew Fish, Venango
  • Wyatt Fleischer, Crawford
  • Dalton Hopper, Centre
  • Dustan Luzier, Lycoming
  • Joseph MacClay, Bucks
  • Kyle Michaels, Carbon
  • Michael Mielnicki, Allegheny
  • Derrick Noonan, Blair
  • Jacob Oliver, Crawford
  • Nathan Ridgley, Luzerne
  • Hunter Sanner, Somerset
  • Cassidy Shawley, Blair
  • Steven Zeigler, Westmoreland

In addition to certifying future Waterways Conservation Officers, the Mansfield Police Academy has provided annual Act 120 training to aspiring municipal police officers since 1977. The Mansfield Act 120 Police Academy is a 26-week course required to become a municipal police officer in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

For more information about the Mansfield Police Academy, visit commonwealthu.edu/academy.

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