By CASEY WARNER Michigan Department of Natural Resources
Teaching kids fishing, archery and other outdoor activities at the Michigan Department of Natural Resources Pocket Park in the Escanaba.
A survival skills program for women.
Managing Michigan’s elk population in the northern Lower Peninsula.
A charity skeet shooting event with Detroit Lions football players at a DNR shooting range.
Not necessarily things that come to mind when you hear about a TV show called “Wardens,” but the show covered these topics and more in its 2024 season.
Since 2016, the Outdoor Channel series has highlighted the work of DNR conservation officers and other DNR employees, providing an inside look at what staff throughout the department does to conserve, protect and manage Michigan’s natural and cultural resources.
The DNR continues its partnership with the channel on production of the 2025 season of “Wardens.” New episodes begin Friday, Feb. 14, and air on the Outdoor Channel Fridays at 9 p.m. ET.
See a preview of the season’s first episode, featuring officers patrolling November waterfowl hunting and the firearm deer hunting season, plus a segment on the Nayanquing Point State Wildlife Area in Bay County and what goes into managing one of Michigan’s Wetland Wonders.
WLUC TV6 also continues to air episodes of the show in the Upper Peninsula. Other television outlets including Animal Planet, the Discovery Channel and MAX have rebranded the program as “Wardens of the North” – combining two episodes into one hourlong episode – bringing the content to cable and streaming services around the world.
Upcoming episodes will continue to illustrate the important role officers play in natural resources conservation, showing their work to enforce hunting, fishing and other outdoor recreation regulations and to educate the public about enjoying the outdoors safely and responsibly.
Combining a look at conservation officers’ important work enforcing regulations to protect natural resources with a glimpse of their role in educating – and sometimes saving the lives of – outdoor recreationists is one unique aspect of the show.
Viewers get a chance to see a more personal side of officers, watching their interactions with the people they encounter in the field.
“We’re not out there just to rake people over the coals,” Lt. Gerald Thayer, DNR Law Enforcement Division District 7 supervisor in Plainwell, told The Detroit News in a story about the show last March. “We do give breaks. We work with people. We understand that, you know, people make mistakes, but we give warnings.”
In addition to law enforcement activities, 2025 “Wardens” episodes will highlight the DNR’s new Nature Awaits program, which offers free state park field trips to fourth grade students; placement of a deer blind accessible to hunters with disabilities; partnership with the Army Corps of Engineers to improve facilities at Wilderness State Park; solar eclipse viewing at Sterling State Park and more.
Since it began featuring the Michigan DNR in 2016, the show has risen in viewership each year. In 2024, the show had more than 5.5 million viewers, an increase of more than 63% over 2023.
“Going into the ninth season of our participation in ‘Wardens,’ the show’s success is a testament to the hard work of everyone involved – from the staff who plan featured topics to those who invite the world into a day on their job to the production team,” DNR Director Scott Bowen said. “It’s been well done for a long time and continues to offer compelling content for those interested in the outdoors. It’s a unique opportunity to give Michigan residents a closer look at how the DNR is taking care of their natural and cultural resources.”
The series also plays an important role in recruiting new conservation officers by offering an inside look at what the job entails, said Katie Gervasi, communications specialist with the DNR Law Enforcement Division.
“We are fortunate to have a great partnership with ‘Wardens’ that shows the real-life, unscripted situations conservation officers encounter on a daily basis. Conservation officers serve a unique role in law enforcement, as they enforce natural resource, recreational safety and general criminal laws, and assist in search and rescue operations,” Gervasi said. “The show displays situations that, for example, demonstrate how something like conducting a simple traffic stop due to suspicious operation can reveal a natural resource violation and at the same time remove an intoxicated operator with loaded firearms from the road.”
The “Wardens” camera crew has tagged along several times with CO Dan Liestenfeltz, who patrols Montmorency County.
“It’s a cool opportunity to show a large number of people at one time what our job is like,” Liestenfeltz said. “It allows people to see what it is like to have a front row seat to the greatest show on Earth.”
David Haupt, analyst in the DNR’s Gladwin Field Office who helps coordinate production of the show, attributes its popularity largely to the staffers who invite the world to watch a day on their often-fascinating jobs.
“While many hunting and fishing programs don’t survive beyond a short period due to the nature of the content and the constant need for fresh storylines and locations, this success is largely due to participation from all the officers and DNR employees who give us a glimpse into their work,” Haupt said. “We’re excited to continue offering people an inside look at what the DNR does to care for Michigan’s fish and wildlife and outdoor spaces and traditions.”
Michigan-based Wolf Creek Productions continues to film and produce episodes of the show at locations around the state.
On the air since 2011, “Wardens” chronicles the lives of conservation officers in America. To learn more about the show, visit OutdoorChannel.com/Wardens.
Michigan conservation officers are fully licensed state peace officers who provide natural resources protection, ensure recreational safety and protect residents by providing general law enforcement duties and lifesaving operations in the communities they serve. To learn more about their work, visit Michigan.gov/ConservationOfficers.
