Over the past two months environmental police officers from the Department of Environmental Management’s Division of Law Enforcement conducted a multi-day operation targeting illegal striped bass fishing activity. The effort uncovered numerous violations of state and federal marine fisheries laws.
Read about the cases here
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE FROM THE MAINE DEPARTMENT OF MARINE RESOURCES
DATE: October 5, 2015
CONTACT: Jeff Nichols, Maine Department of Marine Resources, 207-624-6569
Marine Patrol Sergeant Troy Dow Completes National Leadership Training
Maine Marine Patrol Sergeant Troy Dow has recently completed the National Conservation Law Enforcement Leadership Academy (NCLELA). The prestigious program brings together conservation law enforcement leaders from around the country for three-weeks of intensive training.
The goal of the NCLELA, conducted by the National Association of Conservation Law Enforcement Chiefs, is to prepare conservation law enforcement professionals to effectively adapt to a rapidly changing world. The focus of NCLELA, held at the National Conservation Training Center in Shepherdstown, West Virginia, is to provide the practical skills and knowledge needed by those in conservation law enforcement leadership roles in state or federal agencies.
Attendees must be employed in one of the highest tiers of senior leadership in the applying law enforcement agency, be employed by a state, federal, tribal or international conservation law enforcement agency, and have the endorsement of the agency’s Chief Executive.
“Sergeant Dow has shown tremendous initiative during his career and continues to demonstrate a strong commitment to professional development,” said Marine Patrol Colonel Jon Cornish. “That is why we decided to send him through this program. We believe strongly in supporting the efforts of our Marine Patrol professionals to advance their knowledge and skills. This kind of training will help the Marine Patrol continue to adapt to change and to evolve as a conservation law enforcement bureau.”
Attendees took part in programs on adaptive leadership, leading change, resource management, personnel management, shaping organizational culture, strategic planning, surviving and succeeding as an executive, liability, establishing a leadership legacy, and more.
“There were a lot of topics covered that you hadn’t thought about before,” said Sergeant Dow. “This program has made me a better leader - more able to make the people around me better.”
The program also provided an opportunity for attendees to learn from each other and the unique approaches to conservation law enforcement each brought to the table. “I talked about the relationship Marine Patrol has with industry and how we join the Commissioner for outreach meetings to build those connections. Colleagues from around the country were impressed with the way we actively engaged industry.”
The program also gave Sergeant Dow a chance to build connections with members of other agencies around the country. “Hardly a day goes by that I don’t get contacted by one of the people I attended with.”
The training he received and the contacts he made will also allow him and the Marine Patrol to continue to benefit from the training. “If I have a problem, I’ll be able to reach out to colleagues around the country for assistance,” said Sergeant Dow. “This program will last me the rest of my career.”
Sergeant Dow oversees six Officers and one Specialist in Marine Patrol Section 5, which stretches from the Penobscot River to the Hancock Bridge.
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
[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.
Several Wisconsin conservation wardens were honored at a recent conference for life saving actions over the past few years.
Read more about it here