DNR highlights natural resource police capabilities: K-9s, dive team and expanded swiftwater rescue deployments

Brett McMillian, director of the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources, told senators the department’s natural resource police section has 126 authorized positions, with about 114 active and several vacancies the agency is actively recruiting to fill. He said training and specialized units—K-9 teams, a dive team and a swiftwater rescue capability—are central to the agency’s response work.

McMillian described recent investments in specialized equipment and training that assisted flood and swiftwater responses in southern West Virginia, saying multiple officers were deployed to Southern WV during recent storms. He highlighted the department’s veteran and youth-hunt outreach programs and said the agency received a Conservation Law Enforcement Award from the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies for certain youth hunts and recruitment activities.

Senators asked whether legislative action could improve response speed or resourcing; McMillian said the department continuously reviews response posture, recruitment and equipment needs, and noted that past modest pay increases helped recruitment for officers assigned to remote parks. Committee members also discussed use of concession-operated stables and county partnerships in remote areas when traditional vehicles are not feasible.

McMillian said the agency is monitoring vacancies and that staffing shortfalls most affect seasonal and hospitality operations but also intersect with enforcement and public-safety deployments in emergencies.