# Information regarding Conservation Law Enforcement Training at UMass Amherst



## Guest

Does anyone know how reputable the training is at UMass Amherst for the Conservation Law Enforcement Training Academy (400 hours)? Does the training have any physical fitness requirements, if so what are they? (Can't find anything on the website) Anyone know how successful the graduates are from this self payed/sponsored academy to obtain federal employment?

Thanks in advance for the help.

Info from site:

Session: CPE Non-credit (8/22-3/23)
Meets: In-Person, Class Dates for the 2011-12 Program: Four full weeks & alternating weekends, all in person. 1st full week: Aug. 22 (1st day of class) - Aug 26, 2011, M-F 8 am-5 pm. Weekends: Saturday & Sunday: Sept. 10-11, 24-25; Oct. 8-9, 22-23; Nov. 5-6, 19-20; Dec. 3-4, 17-18 2nd & 3rd full weeks: M-Sa: Jan 2-7 and 9-14, 2012, M-W 8 am-6 pm, both weeks Weekends: Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 28-29; Feb. 11-12, 25-26; March 10-11, 2012 Last full week: M-F, March 19-23 8 am-5 pm (Spring UMass break) Time: Varies depending on the lesson plan - most will be 8 am-5 pm with occasional evening sessions & additional work required outside of classroom time.

Fee: $3,494.00 (Flat fee, Non credit credits)
38372, Lecture 1
Textbook information, if available, may be found by searching for this class in SPIRE using the 5-digit class number shown above. Once the class has been located, click on Restrictions/Notes and scroll down to the Textbook/Other Materials section.

Instructor: John Lynch
Email: [email protected]
Enrollment begins July 20th
The nationally respected training program at the University of Massachusetts Amherst is accredited by the National Park Service. Our 400-hour program is taught in person only in Hadley, Mass. All instructors have many years of experience in natural resource law enforcement. More than 575 students have graduated from this program, and many have found employment with NPS: law enforcement: and others were hired as conservation officers at state parks, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Forest Service, and with state fish and game departments. Curriculum: Instruction and certificates are offered in topics including: Law Enforcement Techniques, Firearms Training, Detention and Arrest, Defensive Tactics, Crime Scene Management, Search and Seizure, Accident Investigation, Federal Law and the U.S. Code and Constitutional Law, Patrol Procedures, Defensive Driving and Pursuit Driving, Pepper Spray.
For more information please email: [email protected] or call 413-545-2484.


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## csauce777

I'm pretty sure it's one of only a handful of Fed certified academies in the country for those NPS jobs. I'd venture to guess that if you completed it, you'd have a decent shot at a seasonal position to start.


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## Guest

Looks like a pretty good gig. Anyone know someone who has worked for or is currently working for the park service or fishing and wildlife for the Feds?


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## 7costanza

Give this guy a call, hes otj at Jellystone.

View attachment 2368


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## csauce777

JamnJim18 said:


> Looks like a pretty good gig. Anyone know someone who has worked for or is currently working for the park service or fishing and wildlife for the Feds?


We had our own resident NPS Ranger here, not sure where he went though.


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## Guest

7costanza said:


> Give this guy a call, hes otj at Jellystone.
> 
> View attachment 2368


I spoke with him and he said only after I take out Yogi.

View attachment 2374


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## Serious

Conservation Law Enforcement/National Park Service Seasonal Law Enforcement Training Program - UMass
I attended this program at the University of Massachusetts Amherst last year (2010-2011) and I wish someone responded with direct information about the Conservation Law Enforcement Training Program (CLETP) at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst when I was trying to decide on whether to attend the program. I can tell you that most of us felt that we had made a big mistake by choosing this program. This program is so screwed up it is difficult to know where to start. My advice is to stay away from this program and find something else. 
The CLETP at UMass Amherst is pretty bad. A couple of the rangers told us, in class, that the UMass program has acquired a bad reputation with hiring rangers. From what we experienced during the program this bad reputation is only going to get worse. 
The head instructor and continuing education made significant cuts in the content of the program in order to improve the program. Instead they made it worse. They even eliminated the critical wilderness first responder training and some other equally important training. Some of the guys had to get together after the class finished and hire their own wilderness first responder instructor and pay for the training themselves! So much for the $3500 tuition.
Out of 30 students only three got jobs. Three students out of thirty is pretty bad. Fedjobs ranks you for each job you apply for and most of us in the class received low scores. No one received any help from CLETP with this online application process. Some asked for help and it never came. We were all left on our own to figure out the process and to fill out the online applications. 
Not everyone received certificates either. A quarter of the class did not receive certificates in March just because of the physical efficiency battery. One guy failed after going through everything because he had a medical and could not be sprayed the face with pepper spray (OC). For your information, a painful stream of pepper spray will be shot directly into your face at close range because it is a National Park Service mandatory requirement for the completion of this class. They only told us it was mandatory a day before we were to be sprayed. Check with your doctor to see if you might have a problem with being sprayed with pepper spray. If you have asthma or any respiratory problem you should not be sprayed with this stuff. If you sustain any injuries in any of the training you are responsible for your own medical expenses. You are required to sign a waver as a part of the UMass application process. The last thing UMass wants is to take responsibility for any injuries that might occur in the class. 
This is categorically the most disorganized and laziest training I have ever taken. In the case of law enforcement training both disorganization and laziness on the part of the head instructor or any other instructor can get people hurt. Most of us felt we made a mistake by taking this class. We were hoping to learn a lot more than we did. Some of us were hoping for a lot more physical training than we received. If we had more information about the class to begin with we might have made different individual decisions. Nothing could have prepared us for how bad this training really turned out to be. 
For those of you who think this is a constant action filled class I want to dispel this belief. If you are not going to like sitting in a class room for eight hours a day listening to lectures, weekend after weekend, then you are not going to like this class. If you are not going to like old rangers telling you about their "war stories" instead of teaching you the subject matter at hand, then you are not going to like this class. If you do not like waiting hour after hour for your turn to participate in scenarios, or to be tested, then you are not going to like this class. If you are not going to like sitting in a classroom for almost sixteen hours waiting for your turn to drive a car for fifteen minutes between cones in a driving class, then this class is not for you. If you are not going to like waiting for hours in the corridor while you wait to be tested on control tactics or some other exercise, then you are not going to like this class. 
A major problem we had with the class was the failure of the CLETP and continuing ed to hand out all of the study packets for the class. CLETP and continuing education did not gave us all of the study packets for each class when we needed them. We had to complain week after week that we were not being given all of the study materials that we were supposed to have for the class. We were supposed to read the study packets and to refer back to them during the class. We could not do this because we were not given the study packets. CLETP finally gave us the study packets after New Years.

Getting a job with NPS is also very difficult. NPS uses the Office of Personnel Management. OPM forwards the top three applications per position to the hiring ranger for each park. When you apply for your first job with the federal government you are fighting an up hill battle. Previously employed seasonal rangers have favored employment status with the NPS and they are given preference in hiring. This year (2011) the parks had to cut back on their new hires from the academies. Next year is going to be even worse. With more experienced rangers looking for work, and with fewer positions being opened, and with more competition, new hires will have a very difficult time securing their first seasonal position. One hiring chief ranger told us that we had to get a job for the 2011 summer season so we could establish ourselves with federal hiring preference status for next year. He said if we failed to get hired this summer we would probably not be hired for up to three years because of the coming federal budget cuts. It just so happens the NPS level II certification only lasts three years. After three years without a job you have to redo all of the Level II training all over again to get recertified. Just look at the budget mess in Washington. They almost closed parks and almost put employees on furlough at NPS facilities this past spring. Some states are in even worse shape and they have closed some parks for the entire season, stopped hiring new and seasonal employees and have furloughed permanent employees they already have. 
We learned a great many things about the NPS and the way they treat their employees. You will only be hired for temporary jobs that will not exceed 1039 hours. For each job you are hired for you will have to go through an application process, interviews, drug testing, background check, driving record check, sign the NPS policies promising you will do nothing "unethical" in your duties or on your off-duty hours, pay for all of your own health insurance through a ranger association, and take the PEB all over again! The NPS does not provide your health insurance. You might also be prevented by your chief ranger from getting a second job if he or she feels it is a conflict of interest or it will get in the way of your ranger duties. 
If you are one of the few fortunate people who are hired by the NPS for a permanent level 1 position you will have to redo all of your training down at FLETC all over again and go through several months of field training. You have to go through field training even if you have worked several seasons as a level II. You should be aware that NPS does not recognize training from other agencies and most of those other agencies do not recognize level II training from the NPS. This means if you want to move to Massachusetts local police positions you will be required you go through their academy from beginning to end. 
I have never posted anything on the Internet before, but I felt I had to make this post when I saw your question. I hope this information helps you. I will check back later to see if there are any more questions.


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## Guest

Thanks for that info. That's more or less what I figured about the NPS and that program after reading through a Facebook page about it. Nobody has had any luck with employment from the UMass program and it was a waste of money.


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## Guest

Serious said:


> Conservation Law Enforcement/National Park Service Seasonal Law Enforcement Training Program - UMass
> I attended this program at the University of Massachusetts Amherst last year (2010-2011) and I wish someone responded with direct information about the Conservation Law Enforcement Training Program (CLETP) at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst when I was trying to decide on whether to attend the program. I can tell you that most of us felt that we had made a big mistake by choosing this program. This program is so screwed up it is difficult to know where to start. My advice is to stay away from this program and find something else.
> The CLETP at UMass Amherst is pretty bad. A couple of the rangers told us, in class, that the UMass program has acquired a bad reputation with hiring rangers. From what we experienced during the program this bad reputation is only going to get worse.
> The head instructor and continuing education made significant cuts in the content of the program in order to improve the program. Instead they made it worse. They even eliminated the critical wilderness first responder training and some other equally important training. Some of the guys had to get together after the class finished and hire their own wilderness first responder instructor and pay for the training themselves! So much for the $3500 tuition.
> Out of 30 students only three got jobs. Three students out of thirty is pretty bad. Fedjobs ranks you for each job you apply for and most of us in the class received low scores. No one received any help from CLETP with this online application process. Some asked for help and it never came. We were all left on our own to figure out the process and to fill out the online applications.
> Not everyone received certificates either. A quarter of the class did not receive certificates in March just because of the physical efficiency battery. One guy failed after going through everything because he had a medical and could not be sprayed the face with pepper spray (OC). For your information, a painful stream of pepper spray will be shot directly into your face at close range because it is a National Park Service mandatory requirement for the completion of this class. They only told us it was mandatory a day before we were to be sprayed. Check with your doctor to see if you might have a problem with being sprayed with pepper spray. If you have asthma or any respiratory problem you should not be sprayed with this stuff. If you sustain any injuries in any of the training you are responsible for your own medical expenses. You are required to sign a waver as a part of the UMass application process. The last thing UMass wants is to take responsibility for any injuries that might occur in the class.
> This is categorically the most disorganized and laziest training I have ever taken. In the case of law enforcement training both disorganization and laziness on the part of the head instructor or any other instructor can get people hurt. Most of us felt we made a mistake by taking this class. We were hoping to learn a lot more than we did. Some of us were hoping for a lot more physical training than we received. If we had more information about the class to begin with we might have made different individual decisions. Nothing could have prepared us for how bad this training really turned out to be.
> For those of you who think this is a constant action filled class I want to dispel this belief. If you are not going to like sitting in a class room for eight hours a day listening to lectures, weekend after weekend, then you are not going to like this class. If you are not going to like old rangers telling you about their "war stories" instead of teaching you the subject matter at hand, then you are not going to like this class. If you do not like waiting hour after hour for your turn to participate in scenarios, or to be tested, then you are not going to like this class. If you are not going to like sitting in a classroom for almost sixteen hours waiting for your turn to drive a car for fifteen minutes between cones in a driving class, then this class is not for you. If you are not going to like waiting for hours in the corridor while you wait to be tested on control tactics or some other exercise, then you are not going to like this class.
> A major problem we had with the class was the failure of the CLETP and continuing ed to hand out all of the study packets for the class. CLETP and continuing education did not gave us all of the study packets for each class when we needed them. We had to complain week after week that we were not being given all of the study materials that we were supposed to have for the class. We were supposed to read the study packets and to refer back to them during the class. We could not do this because we were not given the study packets. CLETP finally gave us the study packets after New Years.
> 
> Getting a job with NPS is also very difficult. NPS uses the Office of Personnel Management. OPM forwards the top three applications per position to the hiring ranger for each park. When you apply for your first job with the federal government you are fighting an up hill battle. Previously employed seasonal rangers have favored employment status with the NPS and they are given preference in hiring. This year (2011) the parks had to cut back on their new hires from the academies. Next year is going to be even worse. With more experienced rangers looking for work, and with fewer positions being opened, and with more competition, new hires will have a very difficult time securing their first seasonal position. One hiring chief ranger told us that we had to get a job for the 2011 summer season so we could establish ourselves with federal hiring preference status for next year. He said if we failed to get hired this summer we would probably not be hired for up to three years because of the coming federal budget cuts. It just so happens the NPS level II certification only lasts three years. After three years without a job you have to redo all of the Level II training all over again to get recertified. Just look at the budget mess in Washington. They almost closed parks and almost put employees on furlough at NPS facilities this past spring. Some states are in even worse shape and they have closed some parks for the entire season, stopped hiring new and seasonal employees and have furloughed permanent employees they already have.
> We learned a great many things about the NPS and the way they treat their employees. You will only be hired for temporary jobs that will not exceed 1039 hours. For each job you are hired for you will have to go through an application process, interviews, drug testing, background check, driving record check, sign the NPS policies promising you will do nothing "unethical" in your duties or on your off-duty hours, pay for all of your own health insurance through a ranger association, and take the PEB all over again! The NPS does not provide your health insurance. You might also be prevented by your chief ranger from getting a second job if he or she feels it is a conflict of interest or it will get in the way of your ranger duties.
> If you are one of the few fortunate people who are hired by the NPS for a permanent level 1 position you will have to redo all of your training down at FLETC all over again and go through several months of field training. You have to go through field training even if you have worked several seasons as a level II. You should be aware that NPS does not recognize training from other agencies and most of those other agencies do not recognize level II training from the NPS. This means if you want to move to Massachusetts local police positions you will be required you go through their academy from beginning to end.
> I have never posted anything on the Internet before, but I felt I had to make this post when I saw your question. I hope this information helps you. I will check back later to see if there are any more questions.


This is the key you use to make paragraphs and double-space between paragraphs. This key is your friend;

View attachment 2569


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## Guest

JamnJim18 said:


> Thanks for that info. That's more or less what I figured about the NPS and that program after reading through a Facebook page about it. Nobody has had any luck with employment from the UMass program and it was a waste of money.


At least one member here got a NPS Ranger position after graduating from the UMass program.


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## Guest

They peppersprayed you? Oh the humanity! Some folks here call that a good time.


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## csauce777

> For your information, a painful stream of pepper spray will be shot directly into your face at close range because it is a National Park Service mandatory requirement for the completion of this class.


Dude...are you seriously complaining that you had to get sprayed in a law enforcement academy setting? The vast majority of people on the forum have been sprayed multiple times during training, and have also been exposed to it during street deployments. Several have been tased during ECD certifications as well. Don't whine and bash the program because it turns out to be a little too "real" for you.


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## j809

I got sprayed more by other officers during arrests Lol


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## mpd61

I had wondered about this program a few years back. It does seem like a waste of time since it only leads to being ELIGIBLE (no guarantee) for a Level II Seasonal L.E. ranger position. Nearly every federal agency sends their FULL TIME people to Glynco FLETC. 0083 Police Officers, 0025 Park Rangers, 1811 Criminal Investigators, and others all attend some kind of basic course of between 10 to 26 weeks. depending on your current age, you might never get a FT appointment before "timing out" at 37. What's kind of ironic is you could have YEARS of FT experience as say a VA Police Officer, and a degree from U/Mass in Environmental studies, but you can't be an 0025 L.E. Park ranger cuz you're 38 years old? WTF? pretty stupid if you ask me.


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## Guest

mpd61 said:


> I had wondered about this program a few years back. It does seem like a waste of time since it only leads to being ELIGIBLE (no guarantee) for a Level II Seasonal L.E. ranger position. Nearly every federal agency sends their FULL TIME people to Glynco FLETC. 0083 Police Officers, 0025 Park Rangers, 1811 Criminal Investigators, and others all attend some kind of basic course of between 10 to 26 weeks. depending on your current age, you might never get a FT appointment before "timing out" at 37. What's kind of ironic is you could have YEARS of FT experience as say a VA Police Officer, and a degree from U/Mass in Environmental studies, but you can't be an 0025 L.E. Park ranger cuz you're 38 years old? WTF? pretty stupid if you ask me.


I believe NPS only hires full-time law enforcement rangers from the ranks of the Level II rangers. I've also heard that getting a full-time position isn't that difficult, provided you're willing to relocate anywhere in the country, usually a remote spot.

If I were in my early 20's, I definitely would have done the program if I had known about it. Any sort of legitimate training always looks good on the resume.


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## USPR1305

For those that want the truth and real facts of the Conservation Law Enforcement Training Program, let me know. I have worked for the NPS for 10 years and teach at the CLETP academy.

For the individual who went through this class last year and had so much to say...you should have stayed awake during the lectures and you could have learned something. I am confused about a few things:
1. Were you sprayed? You will be sprayed at FLETC.
2. Did you know that you will be required to pass the PT test twice a year for the rest of your career? How will that happen if you couldn't pass it during the academy.
3. Weren't you give extra times to pass the PT test after the academy was over?
4. If you are having these medical issues now, what makes you think you will pass the NPS mandated medical to be hired and taken every three years?

Realize that the atmosphere of the academy is a relaxed one. Trying going to the State Police and municipal academy...I am sure there are people here that can explain how demanding those academies are. FLETC isn't any cake walk either. You fail something at FLETC (PT Test, refused OC, written test) there is one second chance.....fail that and you are sent packing. I know several people, probably including you, were give 2[SUP]nd[/SUP], 3[SUP]rd[/SUP] and 4[SUP]th[/SUP] chances to pass one and more sections of the academy.

You are absolutely right about the difficulty in getting a job with the NPS. It is not easy with gov't shutdowns and shrinking budgets. But this class opens the door to many other agencies that look favorable to candidates who have taken this class.

Maybe for your National Park Service "experience" you should look at working in the Visitor's Centers or giving tours. Those positions don't required being sprayed or taking any type of physical or medical test.


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