From left to right: USFWS Office of Law Enforcement Chief Doug Ault, LDWF Capt. Tim Fox, USFWS Director Brian Nesvik, and National Association of Conservation Law Enforcement Chiefs Class Director Heather Disney Dugan (retired Deputy Director of Colorado Parks and Wildlife).
A Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) enforcement agent graduated from the 2026 National Conservation Law Enforcement Leadership Academy Cohort on March 13.
LDWF Capt. Tim Fox graduated after two weeks of conservation law leadership training conducted at the National Conservation Training Center in West Virginia. The class consisted of 36 officers from 23 states, including the Columbia River Inter-tribal Police, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the Bureau of Land Management.
The goal of the National Conservation Law Enforcement Leadership Academy (NCLELA) is to prepare the next generation of conservation law enforcement executives to successfully carry out the conservation law enforcement mission in a rapidly changing world. The NCLELA focus is to provide an educational experience on contemporary issues, future trends, adaptive leadership, systems challenges, and other skills, knowledge, and understandings that will be essential to success for those in executive-level conservation law enforcement leadership roles in the future.
NCLELA fellows engaged in adult learning related to adaptive leadership, systems thinking, leading innovation, mental health and wellness, and other contemporary law enforcement issues. The NCLELA is student-centered with a high degree of student involvement and experiential learning.
Capt. Fox, of Metairie, began his career with the LDWF Enforcement Division in 2006. He is the Region Eight Captain with command over patrol activities in St. Tammany, Orleans, St. Bernard, Plaquemines, Jefferson, St. Charles, and St. John Parishes. Captain Fox’s agents cover the largest population center in the state with the majority of large scale events.
Capt. Fox has received numerous Meritorious Service Awards for response and coordination of search and rescue efforts following several major hurricanes across the state. He was also named the Statewide Boating Safety Officer of the year in 2021 and Region Eight Agent of the year in both 2010 and 2015.
Capt. Fox has served as a Certified Hunting Incident Investigator, Drug Recognition Expert, Standardized Field Sobriety Testing Instructor, Louisiana Peace Officer Standards Training Report Writing Instructor, and co-created and implemented the hunting incident investigation curriculum in the LDWF Cadet Training Academy. He also served as a national instructor for the International Hunter Education Association teaching conservation officers from across the nation about Hunting Incident Investigation.
Topics covered in this leadership course included:
Using Systems Thinking for Adaptive Change
Building Allies to Meet Conservation Challenges
Identifying Major Challenges Facing Conservation Law Enforcement
Emotional Intelligence
Self-Awareness, Self-Regulation & Personal Leadership Capacity
Stress Management and Officer Mental Health and Wellness
Strengthening Relationships and Impact Networking
Individualized Coaching