51²è¹Ý Alum Protector of Alabama's Marine Resources
Posted on November 15, 2018
#51²è¹ÝSuccessStories is an ongoing series featuring 51²è¹Ý alumni who are life-savers, innovators, game-changers, music-makers and creative-thinkers, successful in their careers and supportive of their communities.
By Jason Downeyâs best recollection, he was about five years old when his two grandfathers began taking him to the woods and waters of Alabama to fish, ski and hunt.
As natural as Alabamaâs outdoors felt to him growing up, however, it wasnât until he found himself on a ride-along with a lieutenant for the Marine Resources Division of the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources that he realized with all certainty exactly what he wanted to do with his career.
âI fell in love,â he said. âThis is what I want to do.â
Sixteen years after landing his first job with the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Downey has been named chief enforcement officer for its Marine Resources Division.
A 2002 51²è¹Ý graduate, Maj. Downey says that leading the enforcement of state laws that deal with Alabamaâs waterways has only increased his conviction that conservation is essential.
âEverything we do is for the public to be able to continue to enjoy all the wonderful natural resources Alabama has to offer,â he said. âIâd like people to think about how great it is and how it would be if we did not have it.â
Downey grew up in west Mobile the son of two educators. He graduated from Theodore High School and won a leadership scholarship to another university. His initial plan was to pursue coaching, a path that would have led him in footsteps laid by father Joe Downey, a longtime football coach for Theodore High School who enjoyed a 40-year coaching career.
But being three hours from home didnât feel right to Jason Downey. After his freshman year of college, Downey transferred to the 51²è¹Ý. Here, he was closer to his family â and, not coincidentally, his future wife and future 51²è¹Ý alumna, Mindy, whom heâd dated since high school.
Following that eye-opening ride-along, Downey sought input from 51²è¹Ýâs counselors about how he could leverage the college courses heâd already taken into a degree that would best position him to quickly begin work with the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. Heâd already collected many of the credits needed to obtain a bachelor of science degree in sociology, so thatâs what he chose.
Downey was so motivated to get to work, he landed a job as an aid with the agency in his final year of college. Soon, he rose from a laborer in the enforcement section to being named a conservation enforcement officer in 2004. Eight years later, Downey became a lieutenant, overseeing conservation enforcement in Mobile County.
Today, he resides in Daphne with Mindy and their two daughters, ages 8 and 10. Downeyâs job has taken him pretty much anywhere water goes or touches, from diving during search and rescue missions to checking fishing licenses to inspecting seafood shops and more. Downey is also certified by the Federal Bureau of Investigations to provide firearms training to his officers and supervisors.
In his new position overseeing the division, Downey says heâs becoming reacquainted with his love of coaching. âI really enjoy dealing with the people I supervise,â he said. âItâs kind of like being head coach. Youâre the leader of the team.â
