Indiana Conservation Officer Nathan Cooper, who serves Steuben County, has been selected as 2023 District 2 Officer of the Year.
Cooper has served as a conservation officer for five years. He served in Blackford County before transferring to Steuben County, where he has served since 2021.
In addition to his normal duties as a field officer, Cooper serves as a field training officer, breath test operator, and sonar operator.
District 2 includes Adams, Allen, DeKalb, Huntington, LaGrange, Noble, Steuben, Wells, and Whitley counties.
The district award puts Cooper 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 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.