Lakewood DNR station has new conservation warden

A Michigan native who served the country in military deployments to Somalia and Haiti before starting his law enforcement career is the new state conservation warden based at Lakewood in Oconto County.

Jamin Leuzzo, born and raised in the Upper Peninsula Michigan town of Bessemer, was hired by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources’ Bureau of Law Enforcement in late 2018 to serve the public as a conservation warden assigned to the Peshtigo Warden Team.

An outdoors guy who fishes, grouse hunts and enjoys exploring the outdoors with his wife, Leuzzo didn’t waste any time throwing himself into public service once high school was in the rear-view mirror.

“After graduation, I enlisted in the United States Army with the 10th Mountain Division in Fort Drum, N.Y. as an infantryman,” he said. Off he went to Somalia and Haiti.

Once he was stateside, his public service didn’t end. He worked in correctional facilities for adult men in South Dakota and Minnesota, with the last dozen years as a K-9 handler. He also worked as a crime analyst for the Duluth Police Department/Lake Superior Drug and Violent Crimes Task Force in Duluth for about two years before joining the DNR warden service.

Warden Leuzzo will serve the Oconto County communities of Townsend, Lakewood, Doty, Riverview, Mountain, Brazeau, Breed and Bagley from the Lakewood Field Station. His office address is: Lakewood USFS Office,15085 State Highway 32, Lakewood, WI 54138-9735; and his work phone is 715-219-5161. He can be reached by email at Jamin.Leuzzo@wisconsin.gov.

“I am excited to be working in northern Oconto County and look forward to meeting everyone who uses the area for recreational activities,” he said.