Natural Resource Volunteer Program

The Natural Resource Volunteer Program (NRVP) assists the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) by providing enhanced public service to the community while offering opportunities for citizens to make a definitive contribution toward protecting California's wildlife resources.

Mission

The mission of NRVP is to provide conservation and enforcement education in public service, through community outreach, State lands monitoring, habitat and pollution awareness, animal welfare and CDFW administrative assistance.

Purpose

The purpose of NRVP is to improve efficiency and productivity statewide by using the skills of talented volunteers. These volunteers will perform tasks which support the CDFW's operations and mission.

While CDFW will make maximum effort to utilize the skills of volunteers, it is not the intent of this program to supplant any sworn or non-sworn personnel.

Benefits

Volunteers are the eyes and ears of CDFW enforcement personnel, biologists, managers and public officials. Trained to observe and report, Volunteers increase field time for warden patrols and investigations. They additionally free up more time for biologists to do scientific management and research. Volunteers add value to the CDFW through their maturity, wisdom and life experience. They exemplify patience and understanding in a competitive world of consumptive and non-consumptive resource users. Volunteers are empowered by their ability to give back their talents to the community, not by the position they are entrusted with.

Objectives

The objectives of NRVP are:

  1. To assist CDFW in providing enhanced public service to the community.
  2. To provide an opportunity for citizens to make a definitive contribution toward protecting California's fish and wildlife and their habitats.