COLUMBUS, Ohio – Scott Denamen, Ohio Wildlife Officer Supervisor in northeast Ohio, was recently named Ohio Wildlife Officer of the Year by the Shikar-Safari Club International, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of Wildlife.
Officer Denamen was presented his award during the August meeting of the Ohio Wildlife Council. Shikar-Safari Club International is a conservation-based organization that presents annual awards to deserving wildlife law enforcement officers in all states, provinces, and territories in the U.S. and Canada. The annual award honors a state officer whose efforts show outstanding performance and achievement among commissioned conservation law enforcement personnel.
Officer Denamen is an experienced veteran employee with more than 20 years of service in wildlife law enforcement. A graduate of the 1999 Wildlife Officer Academy, he worked as a wildlife officer assigned to Geauga County for many years and was promoted to a supervisor position in 2021. Officer Denamen oversees several counties in northeast Ohio. Following his 1990 graduation from Austintown Fitch High School, Officer Denamen obtained his Bachelor of Science in wildlife management from The Ohio State University.
Although Officer Denamen primarily works in northeast Ohio, his influence extends throughout the state. Officer Denamen is an instructor on the Division of Wildlife’s law enforcement training team and a member of the officer support team.
Officer Denamen also understands the importance of connecting communities. He recently initiated a project where the Division of Wildlife collaborated with the Julia De Burgos Cultural Center of Cleveland, Metro West Community Development, and Lincoln West High School to develop an urban garden within Cleveland’s Hispanic neighborhood that highlights the monarch butterfly migration. These butterflies will migrate to the Sierra Madre Mountains in Mexico in the fall and their offspring will return to Ohio the following spring. Officer Denamen’s efforts demonstrate the importance of connecting communities through the monarch’s migration story.
The Shikar-Safari Club International was founded in 1952 by an international group of hunters interested in exchanging ideas about the sport. In 1966, the Shikar-Safari International Foundation was formed to support various wildlife conservation projects with funds raised by club members.
The mission of the Division of Wildlife is to conserve and improve fish and wildlife resources and their habitats for sustainable use and appreciation by all. Visit wildohio.gov to find out more.
ODNR ensures a balance between wise use and protection of our natural resources for the benefit of all. Visit the ODNR website at ohiodnr.gov.
