Department of Defense
INSTRUCTION
NUMBER 5525.17
October 17, 2013
Incorporating Change 1, December 4, 2017
USD(P&R)
SUBJECT: Conservation Law Enforcement Program (CLEP)
References: See Enclosure 1
1. PURPOSE. This instruction:
a. Establishes policy, assigns responsibilities, and provides direction for the CLEP in
accordance with the authority in DoD Directive (DoDD) 5124.02 (Reference (a)).
b. Defines the organization and authorities of CLEP.
2. APPLICABILITY. This instruction applies to OSD, the Military Departments, the Office of
the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Joint Staff, the Combatant Commands, the
Office of the Inspector General of the Department of Defense, the Defense Agencies, the DoD
Field Activities, and all other organizational entities within the DoD (referred to collectively in
this instruction as the “DoD Components”).
3. POLICY. It is DoD policy that:
a. The protection of property and natural and cultural resources under DoD control is
accomplished through the enforcement of all applicable federal and State laws and regulations.
b. The CLEP is used to support decisions and management actions by DoD’s natural and
cultural resources managers regulating the users of these resources to achieve specific goals and
objectives.
c. DoD Component law enforcement officials exercise functional oversight over the CLEP
and the conservation law enforcement officers (CLEOs) carrying out the program.
d. CLEOs assigned to DoD Component law enforcement elements may be co-located with
the conservation program manager at the installation.
