Howerton was raised in Crawford County and has been serving as a conservation officer for eight years.
In addition to his patrol duties, Howerton is a member of the DNR Law Enforcement cave rescue and scuba teams. He also serves as a background investigator and field training officer.
District 8 covers Crawford, Clark, Floyd, Harrison, Jackson, Lawrence, Orange, Perry, Scott and Washington counties.
The district award puts Howerton in the running for the Pitzer Award, which is given to the top overall conservation officer in the state of Indiana and 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 Jan. 2, 1961 in Jay County.