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'Unprecedented' couple of years for wildlife officers By Nick Carter - Sports editor Edwin Grant and his bloodhound Nitro won an award for their efforts during the search for Eric Rudolph. Photo by Nick Carter It's been a busy couple of years for the area's wildlife enforcement agencies. From the Eric Rudolph case to the tragedy a Peeks Creek, the region's officers and their dogs have been doing much more than just catching people hunting or fishing illegally. But they have also done their share of that, and because of the high-profile nature of the cases, a couple of area officers have garnered nationwide attention. "It's unusual. I guess I could say it's unprecedented," said Captain Gary Broome, the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission's law enforcement supervisor for the state's 12 westernmost counties. "In the last few years, we've made some of the biggest arrests we've made in my 22 years here." Brian Southard, a National Forest Service enforcement officer, working out of the Tusquittee Ranger District in Murphy, was named the Wild Turkey Federation's National Wildlife Enforcement Officer of the Year. In his 12 years with the Forest Service, Southard has put 900 cases through the courts and has never lost one. He headed up the Forest Service's arm of last year's investigation that busted a poaching ring operating inside Macon County. After all was said and done, the case's 269 state and federal charges ended up costing 16 poachers more then $31,000 and 28 years worth of license revocations. The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission also got in on that case. Sergeant Wade Burge and officer Edwin Grant were two area law enforcement officials whose efforts were instrumental in that investigation. Grant was awarded the Wildlife Resources Commission's Officer of the Year for the 16-state Southeast Region. He was also honored with the Shikar Safari, Conservation Officer of the Year Award. Shikar Safari is an international hunting club that promotes wildlife conservation. But Grant's awards were not solely based on his involvement in the poaching ring case. He and other wildlife officials, working very closely with local law enforcement agencies, have had their hands in several very big cases recently. Grant, with his bloodhound Nitro, was awarded the Sofia Silva Award for his work on the Eric Rudolph case. The award, given in honor of three girls that were abducted and murdered by a serial killer, is for outstanding use of a bloodhound in search and rescue operations. After Rudolph was captured in Murphy, Grant and Nitro backtracked to find several of the fugitive's mountain hideouts. But, perhaps the most important thing Commission officers were involved in last year was the tragedy at Peeks Creek. When Tropical Storm Ivan rolled through Western North Carolina in mid-September, it dislodged an area of earth the size of a football field from Fish Hawk Mountain. Dirt, rock, water and debris flowed down the mountain in a wave of destruction that scoured Peeks Creek and wiped out the community located on its banks. Seventeen homes were destroyed and five people were killed, including one unborn baby. On the night of the disaster, several Commission officers were there but by dawn the next morning, every available Wildlife Resources officer west of Asheville was en route to the scene to assist local law enforcement authorities with the operation. "They all played a very active role," said Macon County Sheriff Robbie Holland. "They were right in there with everybody else doing what needed to be done." Commission officers were involved in security, canine searches and the recovery of bodies, said Holland. Grant and his officers also conducted much of the relief efforts. "Having to search through that debris was difficult," said Grant. "Of all the recoveries I've done, it was by far the worst thing I've ever seen. "As soon as it happened, I walked up to the top, where it started, and it was just really tough. Knowing that all those people lived up there made it just a really bad deal." For everyone involved in the recovery at Peeks Creek, it was a harrowing experience. But, for those not involved, it's comforting to know that Macon County's officials work very well together. "With Macon County, we're all on the same team. We're all public servants and when it comes down to it, we'll all work together to get it done," Holland said. "It's rare to see a wildlife officer show up on a domestic call but if Edwin (Grant) is close by, he won't hesitate to come back up one of my officers." | Return Home | Seminar Info | Our Services Contact Us | Great Links | Evaluations and Standards | Free Training Downloads | Sofia Silva Award | What's Missing? | Catalog | |
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