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Careers in ENR
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Careers in ENR: Renewable Resource
Officer lll
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Fred J.
Mandeville. Fort Resolution, NT When Fred J. Mandeville goes out on wildlife patrol he must go out alone, overseeing the vast expanse of the Fort Resolution area that he is responsible for in his job as a Renewable Resource Officer lll. The lands and waters of the Fort Resolution area are part of his workplace. The work he does is sometimes dangerous, cold, tiring and lonely but Fred has skills and knowledge that he can depend upon when he undertakes assignments like this. The learning and building of those skills goes back to when he was a boy growing up in Fort Resolution where he was born. Fred has spent most of his life out on the land, and even during his off duty hours now, his hobbies and interests still continue to take him outdoors. From running his team of sled dogs across the wintry landscape, hunting, trapping, fishing and flying out to the wilderness in his airplane Fred enjoys life and the career he has chosen. Fred is a northerner, and has been here for most of his life except for a couple of short stints in the south. Fred has been a Renewable Resource Officer since graduating from Aurora College in 1991 and he worked in Yellowknife prior to settling back in his hometown in 1996. Being the only Officer in this area Fred is responsible for all functions of the Department of ENR for the Station, including everything from administration to field operations for the Station. This includes forestry, fishing, trapping, hunting and fire operations. The forest management responsibilities consist of overseeing the fire suppression crews and going out to work on fires in various overhead roles, including supervision of people and resources fighting forest fires. There is a long history of logging in the Fort Resolution area so Fred has been involved over the years in all aspects of forest operations; from environmental assessments, field inspections of harvesting areas and scaling of timber. Fred's job is demanding, he is required to know many aspects of renewable resources management - from wildlife to forests - and apply this everyday on the job. This is a big challenge for all Renewable Resource Officers in the NWT - one they meet very capably every day. Other Careers in ENR: | Regional Forester | Inventory Forester | Renewable Resource Officer II | Renewable Resource Officer III | Air Attack Officer |
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Career Chat How did you get to where you are now? I
have always been interested in this field, so finally in 1989 I
decided to go back to school and enrolled in the Renewable Resources
Technology Program at Aurora College in Fort Smith. I had to take
a few months of academic upgrading to be eligible to apply, which
I did. Having had a lot of experience outdoors and in the workforce
helped out considerably during my time in college. The most important
step I took to realize my choice of career, was to take the required
academic upgrading to be able to get into the program. Having to
give up a very well paying job and making a commitment to finish
the program was a very difficult choice to make. Who influenced you most in your choice of a career? There
is no one particular person who influenced my choice of career,
just growing up and seeing the Game Wardens as they were called
then, I guess they all had a bit of influence on me. What are the best parts of your job? The
best parts of my work is the field work, being out on the snowmobile,
boat or aircraft, just meeting or talking to fishermen, trappers,
hunters or being on the fire line. What are some challenges you had to overcome? The biggest challenge I had to overcome is being out of school for so many years and having to discipline myself for all the studying; this was difficult.
Be
prepared to spend a lot of time in the bush and with the bugs and
swamps in the summer and the cold and the snow in the winter. |
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Government of the Northwest Territories |
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