On Monday, May 5, 2014, the National Association of Conservation Law Enforcement Chiefs, in partnership with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, launched the inaugural session of the National Conservation Law Enforcement Leadership Academy at the National Conservation Training Center in Shepherdstown, West Virginia.

The first class consists of 35 conservation law enforcement executives from across the United States and Canada, representing 24 states and the Canadian province of Nova Scotia.

This leadership development initiative is critical to the future of conservation law enforcement in the United States and Canada. This project would not be possible without the support of the the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (AFWA), NACLEC members, and the outstanding partnerships between NACLEC, the US Fish and Wildlife Service, USFWS Chief of Law Enforcement Bill Woody, NCTC Director Jay Slack and the staff at NCTC. At the end of the day, it’s partnerships and relationships that make this important initiative possible and successful."

Participants in the program completed the first two week residency on May 16, 2014. They then returned to their respective agencies where they will complete an applied learning leadership project. They will return to NCTC for a final week of courses and a graduation ceremony on September 18, 2014.