2015 Leadership Academy Class Graduates!!

Congratulations go to the following officers from 27 states and the USFWS who graduated from the 2015 National Conservation Law Enforcement Leadership Academy.

See photo of graduating class in uniform at NCTC here

The 27 officers are:

Captain Floyd Harper, Arkansas Game and Fish Commission
Captain Christy Wurster, California Fish and Wildlife
Captain Benjamin Byrd, New Mexico Game and Fish
District Supervisor Benny Pryor, Missouri Department of Conservation
Area Wildlife Manager Mark Leslie, Colorado Parks and Wildlife
Captain Drew Aydelotte, Delaware Natural Resource Police
Captain Jay Russel, Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission
Major Don Duval, Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission
Major Stephen Adams, Georgia DNR
Chief Greg Wooten, Idaho Fish and Game
Lt. Colonel Steve Hunter, Indiana DNR
Captain Dan Melson, Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks, and Tourism
Captain Greg Williford, Texas Parks and Wildlife
Sergeant Troy Dow, Maine Marine Patrol
Lt. Kevin Adam, Maine Warden Service
Captain David Malloch, Michigan DNR
Supervisor Rodney Ivie, Missouri Department of Conservation
Regional Supervisor Chris Morrow, Missouri Department of Conservation
Captain John Douglas, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks
Assistant Administrator Jeff Clauson, Nebraska Game and Parks Commission
Major Michael Perry, New Mexico Department of Game and Fish
Supervisor Michele Welsh, Ohio DNR
LT William Tobey, Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation
LT Casey Thomas, Oregon State Police
LT Michael Reeder, Pennsylvania Game Commission
Major Jamie Landrum, South Carolina DNR
Major William Poole, South Carolina DNR
Captain Clifton Swofford, Texas Parks and Wildlife
Deputy RAC Bruce Corley, USFWS
Captain Mitch Lane, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources
Colonel Jason Batchelder, Vermont Fish and Wildlife
Deputy Chief Michael Hobbs, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
Assistant Training Director Jeffrey King, Wisconsin DNR
LT. Colonel David Trader, West Virginia Division of Natural Resources
Regional Wildlife Supervisor John Lund, Wyoming Game and Fish Department

Maine Game Wardens Rescue Two AT Hikers

[Blanchard TWP, Maine – October 1, 2015] Two missing female through hikers were found safe on a flooded portion of Maine’s Appalachian Trail (AT). Amy McConaughy, 27, from Belair, Maryland and Kelly Wood, 25, from Nokesville, Virginia became stranded on a portion of the AT near Blanchard due to a flooded East Branch of the Piscataquis River.
 
At about 9:00 this morning, several Maine game wardens and two searchers with Mount Desert Island SAR located the two missing women near the intersection of the AT and the East Branch of the Piscataquis. Searchers also located another stranded hiker named Gabriel Grace, 26, from Baltimore, Maryland. All three were cold and wet but did have additional supplies. A Maine Army National Guard Blackhawk helicopter responded with an air rescue basket and extracted the three hikers from the area, lifting them to safety at a nearby field. Without their help, this rescue would have been much more difficult.
 
The women had been dropped off Monday morning in Caratunk by Kelly Wood’s father. They had planned to be out Tuesday evening in Monson. When they did not arrive, the father called the Maine Warden Service yesterday at 2:00 PM. A northbound through hiker named Billy Lehman was identified in Monson who saw the two women on Tuesday, September 29, at about 7:00 PM. At that point he indicated they were about a mile southwest of the Horseshoe Canyon Lean-to. The hiker stated the women were camped and fine. He stayed at the lean-to until Wednesday morning when he continued on. He crossed the East Branch of the Piscataquis River and stated it was over his waist and flowing heavily. It quickly became evident that the two hikers likely became stranded near the lean-to due to the fast-flowing river crossing. A search soon focused on that area.
 
Both women were through-hikers from Georgia. McConaughy began her hike on April 1 and Wood started two days later on the 3rd. The women did not know each other prior to the hike but became friends while hiking. Gabriel Grace began his hike on March 9th in Georgia. The Maine Warden Service advises all hikers of Maine’s AT that rivers are currently very high and dangerous. People hiking the AT should bring with them good communication devices to aid in unforeseen mishaps such as this.

 

 

United States Department of Interior Secretary Sally Jewell Addresses NACLEC Leadership Academy

United States Secretary of the Department of Interior Sally Jewell addressed the 2015 NACLEC Leadership Academy class at the Department of Interior Office in Washington, DC on Monday, September 14, 2015.

In her speech to the class, Secretary Jewell highlighted the importance of the work conservation law enforcement officers do across the country, the importance of the USFWS/NACLEC partnership, and the need to work together to address illegal wildlife trafficking.

See a photo of Secretary Jewell addressing class here

See photo of class with Secretary Jewell here