<img src=icon_smile_blush.gif border=0 align=middle> Boy Jason I hope I can live up to that post. B&H you can e-mail me direct if you want. Every state has different requirements. So here goes- In Maryland we have pay parody with the State Police which makes us one of the highest paid Conservation Agencies in the country. Down side is the State police were low on the list of states ranked by pay last time I checked. Trade off- in a state like MD where you have and do all types of law enforcement conservation enforcement time suffers but you usually receive higher pay. The hours are about the same as any other public service job really. The actual work hours may very day to day and "real" shifts are not really possible as you need to work the activity- many times this is a reflection of the dedication to the job and not just backing up for a check if you know what I mean. I'm just entering my 20th year- and yeah I feel it. It can be a very physically demanding job but also very rewarding. I can honestly say I would not change a thing in my career, except maybe paying attention to the older guys more when I started as they are a wealth of knowledge. I was going much in the same direction as you but really wanted the "Game Warden" job. I was #1 on tests for several police agencies but wanted this way of life not just a job. Hope it helps some, like I said feel free to e-mail but expect a delay as it's right in it now and I'm running alot. Here's a site for DNR links that may help.
www.walleyehunter.com/dnrmap.htm
Good Luck,
Charlie
http://homestead.juno.com/ncsfkids/FieldDay.html