Indiana Conservation Officer Keith Wildeman has been selected as the 2022 District 7 Officer of the Year.
Wildeman is assigned to Posey County and has been a conservation officer since 2009. Before transferring to Posey County, Wildeman served in Starke County.
In addition to his normal duties as a field officer, he has served as district armorer, boat accident investigator, background investigator, breath test operator, and field training officer. He has also served an essential role in the Karl E. Kelly Camp since 2012.
District 7 includes Daviess, Dubois, Gibson, Knox, Martin, Pike, Posey, Spencer, Vanderburgh, and Warrick counties.
The district award puts Wildeman in the running for the Pitzer Award, which is presented to the top overall conservation officer in the state and is selected from the 10 district award winners.
The Pitzer Award is named after Conservation Officer James D. Pitzer, who was fatally shot while investigating illegal hunting activity on Jan. 2, 1961, in Jay County.