Nebraskaland

58 Nebraskaland • April 2026 property. If they have problems, I enjoy going out there and working with them." G o b b e r i s o n e o f f ive fe m a l e conservation officers in the state. The Commission hired its first female conservation officer in 1992, and officer Dana Miller, who continues to serve in Cherry and Hooker counties, was the second hire in 1996. "It's obviously extremely challenging on some days to have to constantly prove yourself to some individuals just because of your gender ... [but] at the end of the day, becoming a better officer and overcoming those challenges, that's the most rewarding. And seeing little girls talk about wanting to be a game warden — that's empowering," Gobber said. CHANGING EXPECTATIONS While game wardens struggled with gaining compliance and public support for conservation early in the 20th century, perhaps the most glaring PR challenge is the anti-law enforcement sentiment that has been growing n a t i o n w i d e . A l t h o u g h S h e p l e r would say that the Commission law enforcement has fared better than other agencies, the backlash has created several challenges. "I do feel like it's steering people, younger people, totally away from l aw e n fo rc e m e n t, " S h e p l e r s a i d . "[However], we are hiring people that have an interest in the outdoors, for the most part. They may initially, like me, think they're going to be a biologist. They just go down a different path. So, we're kind of hiring from a different pool of people." T h e a n t i - l a w e n f o r c e m e n t movement, if anything, has reiterated the importance of professionalism. In 2025, Commission law enforcement made the big change of adopting marked trucks, when, for over a century, conservation officers have historically driven unmarked vehicles. "If we're making a stop on the interstate [or] we're making a contact for a domestic violence case, if we roll up in a truck that isn't marked and has personal plates, there has been questions on whether we are a c t u a l l y l aw e n fo rc e m e n t , eve n though we're standing there in full uniform," Shepler explained. "So, it's a public safety issue. It's an accountability issue, because that's the accountability that the public expects these days." Another change is the return of body cameras, which will be in use starting this year. Although COs p rev i o u s l y h a d t h e m , t h e s t a te l e g i s l a t u re a n d Ne b r a s k a C r i m e Commission passed a statute in 2016 that placed restrictive requirements on the use of body cameras and the storage of video, which at the time, the Commission did not have the infrastructure to fulfill. "It's really common during any contact that you expect to be on camera. That's not a bad thing — that's one area that's changed since the anti-law enforcement movement, is the accountability that people expect, and we do, too," Shepler said. A l s o, o f f i c e rs ' we l l - b e i n g a n d m e n t a l h e a l t h h a s b e e n m o r e c o n c e r n i n g t h a n eve r, s p u r r i n g a d m i n i s t ra to rs to m a ke p o s i t ive c h a n ge s to p rov i d e o f f i c e rs t h e s u p p o r t t h e y n e e d t h r o u g h o u t their careers. THE FUTURE Conservation law enforcement is changing fast. In addition to checking licenses and enforcing season dates, today's officers also contend with organized wildlife trafficking, more complex criminal activity, public safety calls in rural areas and growing challenges, such as wildlife diseases

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