Indiana Conservation Officer Ron Johnson has been selected as the 2021 District 3 Officer of the Year.

Johnson is assigned to Montgomery County and has been a conservation officer since 1996.

In addition to his normal duties as a field officer, he also serves as a sonar operator.

District 3 includes Benton, Boone, Carroll, Cass, Clinton, Fountain, Montgomery, Tippecanoe, Warren, and White counties in west central Indiana.   

The district award puts Johnson in the running for the Pitzer Award, which is given to the top overall conservation officer in the state and is 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 on Jan. 2, 1961, in Jay County.