Park Ranger Law Enforcement Academy, Flagstaff, Arizona

Meet Your Staff:

Director Michael O’Connor has 20 years of commissioned law enforcement experience and began his career at the PRLEA at NAU in 2001 as a student. Since then he has worked for the National Park Service at Sequoia National Park, Lake Mead Recreation Area, and Denali National Park and Preserve where he completed his Field Training Evaluation Program (FTEP) at Olympic National Park and Mount Rainier National Park. In 2009 Michael became a Special Agent (1811) with the National Marine Fisheries Service in Anchorage Alaska and attended the Criminal Investigator Training Program. Michael then went on to work for the Anchorage Police Department as a patrol officer, Impaired Driving Enforcement Unit officer, a Detective with the Crimes Against Children Unit and then became assigned to the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Task Force. Michael received his Bachelor’s in Parks and Recreation Management at Northern Arizona University and his Master’s in Public Administration from the University of Alaska Southeast. Michael is also a certified Force Analyst from the Force Science Institute.

Program Coordinator Mike O’Neil retired from the United States Forest Service before joining the PRLEA at NAU. Mike began his federal law enforcement career in 1995 working for the National Park Service as a law enforcement ranger and promoted to the position of supervisor ranger at Grand Canyon National Park. Mike has been a firearms instructor for 15 years and instructed at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center at the Drug Enforcement Training Program for the National Academy for the National Forest Service.

This PRLEA outshines the rest!

Since 1998, the Park Ranger Law Enforcement Academy has graduated over 1,000 students. It has an excellent reputation among law enforcement hiring officials for producing outstanding candidates. This is a result of our extensive and highly-relevant curriculum and the relationships built over the years with surrounding law enforcement agencies who instruct and assist in the classroom and in reality-based training scenarios. These agencies include the National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service, Coconino County Sheriff’s Office, Arizona Department of Public Safety, the Drug Enforcement Administration, Flagstaff PD, Queen Creek PD, Arizona Game & Fish Department, Phoenix PD, our University PD, and the local U.S. Attorney’s Office. Our instructor cadre offers our students close to 1,000 years of collective experience!

Financial Aid

PRLEA students who are enrolled for university credit may be eligible for financial aid through the University. All students, credit and non-credit, are eligible to receive one of two scholarship awards, granted at graduation. These scholarships are awarded on the basis of performance during the academy.

McGinn-Axelsen Award

Brent McGinn was the Chief Ranger at Glen Canyon National Monument in 2010. Laurie Axelsen was the Dangling Rope District Ranger. Both were tragically killed in an off-duty aircraft accident in October, 2010. This $1500 award embodies the characteristics of excellence, integrity, hard work, and pride in performance exemplified by McGinn and Axelsen. It is the “Best in Class” award.

The McIlwaine Scholarship Award

This $1,000 award is given each semester by the The Charles and Joanne McIlwaine Foundation and recognizes a student who exhibits excellent performance during the academy.

Location- Flagstaff, Arizona

PRLEA is located in the vibrant mountain town of Flagstaff, Arizona. Flagstaff sits at 7,000 feet in elevation at the base of the San Francisco Peaks on Route 66 in northern Arizona with a population of around 75,000.

Flagstaff provides the perfect setting for natural resource law enforcement education. It is surrounded by the 1.9 million acre Coconino National Forest, the largest Ponderosa Pine forest in the world. It is also the gateway to Grand Canyon National Park, Walnut Canyon National Monument, Wupatki National Monument, Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument, Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona Snowbowl Ski Resort, Lake Powell & Antelope Canyon, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Oak Creek Canyon and the town of Sedona with its awe-inspiring red rock landscapes.

Flagstaff offers endless outdoor adventure opportunities for mountain biking, camping, rock climbing, hiking, backpacking, river running, OHV, canyoneering, hunting, fishing, equestrian, downhill and cross-country skiing enthusiasts.