The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has felt the impact of COVID-19 on how they operate and train.

DNR Conservation Officer for Washington and Keokuk counties Wes Gould says working outdoors makes it easier to social distance when they have dealings with the public during the pandemic, but some may try to use that to their advantage, “Now I think that some people use that as an excuse to keep us away from them, they don’t want us coming up to them and checking them. And, we have observed, I don’t want to say we’ve cut back, but we social distance, watching our crowds, trying to check people individually, staying away from large groups.”

Gould says COVID-19 has also affected DNR training. He says because they’ve had to split trainees from one large group into several smaller class sizes, instructors have had to conduct multiple training sessions to cover the same topic.

You can hear more from Wes Gould during his extended interview airing today (02.16) during the Special Public Safety News Magazines at 1 and 6 p.m. on KCII.