Cass Lake’s Patrick McGowan Named DNR 2025 Conservation Officer of the Year

Patrick McGowan, the Cass Lake-area conservation officer who patrols Leech Lake and other busy waterways, was named the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Enforcement Division’s 2025 Conservation Officer of the Year during a late-February ceremony at Camp Ripley, an honor that follows his November 2024 rescue of six young duck hunters and underscores safety priorities on Leech Lake.

The November 2024 incident occurred just after 5 a.m. when a boat overturned on Leech Lake and McGowan rescued the six young duck hunters, earning a lifesaving award for his actions, the DNR said. The agency noted that McGowan has also been involved in several other rescues of individuals in distress, highlighting his record of on-water response in the Cass Lake patrol area.

McGowan’s career timeline tracks back to 2003 when he began with the DNR as a watercraft inspector. He left to work as a police officer in Maple Grove before rejoining the DNR in 2008 as a conservation officer. He served a stint in Walker and now parks at the Cass Lake station, a posting that puts him on some of the state’s busiest waterways, including Leech Lake.

Beyond frontline patrols, McGowan instructs at the Conservation Officer Academy, is a certified boating instructor, serves as a field training officer for new conservation officers, and is an arson investigator. Regional enforcement notes from Camp Ripley list McGowan assisting with CO Academy watercraft training, where recruits were taught patrol tactics in a watercraft and state boating statutes, and where he answered numerous calls from the public seeking information.

McGowan’s file includes prior DNR honors: the Boat and Water Safety Achievement Award in 2014 and the Waterfowl Enforcement Achievement Award in 2015. He was also named 2025 Minnesota Wildlife Officer of the Year by the Shikar-Safari Club International, a separate recognition cited alongside the DNR award.

Col. Rodmen Smith, director of the DNR Enforcement Division, framed the Camp Ripley recognition this way: "Pat exemplifies what it means to be a great all-around conservation officer," Smith said. "He puts our state’s cherished resources first, ensures our newest officers are fully ready to carry on our proud tradition as conservation officers, and is always willing to prioritize others’ needs ahead of his own."

McGowan was one of five conservation officers honored at the late-February Camp Ripley ceremony. Other named honorees in agency material include Conservation Officer Shawn Wichmann, recipient of the Boat and Water Safety Achievement Award, Babbit-area Conservation Officer Anthony Bermel, and an honoree referenced only as Troy who was praised by Col. Smith for his diligence in protecting resources.

As the DNR moves into the months when boating and hunting activity increase on Leech Lake and in Beltrami County, McGowan’s blend of lifesaving responses, instruction at the Conservation Officer Academy, and long service to the region highlights local enforcement priorities and the ongoing emphasis on water safety and training among northern Minnesota conservation officers.