SPRING NEWSLETTER DEADLINE

May 15, 2000

With the passing of the New Year, the Federal Wildlife Officers Association (FWOA) has entered it's 15th year of existence. As many recall in the Spring of 1986, SA Don Patterson led an effort to battle those in personnel who sought to attack the grade levels and pay for our fellow agents. As a result, a unified voice was formed through the FWOA and in 1987 Agent Patterson was elected as the first president of the Association. With Don's leadership and an active Board and agent membership, the FWOA succeeded in thwarting the attacks by personnel. In Don's own words, "those were extraordinary times that called for extraordinary determination under extraordinary risk...stop the madness". That they did and from 1987 to 1991, Don continued to represent the FWOA members as their president and additional battles were fought and won.

The recent retirement by SRA Don Patterson (Virginia) is a reminder of the courage and determination it took to fight for what was right. I met Don in the late 1980s and was immediately awestruck with his passion for protecting our wildlife resources. His knowledge and love for the outdoors was inspirational and I knew right away that Don was someone I wanted to learn from, especially when it came to migratory bird protection. Over the years, I've considered his friendship and opinions priceless. Don is one of those legends that will be sorely missed.

In my mind, another legend that I will certainly miss is the recently retired SA/Pilot Jerry Sommers (Peoria, IL). Over the last couple decades, Agent Sommers and his personality have touched the lives of many. Besides being a decorated Vietnam War hero, Agent Sommers (1988 & 1996 Region 3 Rep) is also a hero within the ranks of wildlife officers throughout the country, flying hundreds and hundreds of missions from coast to coast and border to border for officers in all jurisdictions. Throughout the years, Jerry risked his life in the air for our nation's precious resources and his devotion to wildlife protection was certainly inspirational. As a rookie agent in Illinois, Jerry took me under his wing and taught me about catching bad guys, especially working waterfowl enforcement. Jerry also taught me other life lessons, including the importance of family.

The ducks will miss their guardian in the air. Nonetheless, Jerry will forever be considered an extension of my family and my kids will always know him as "Uncle Jerry".

As the rush of retirements continues throughout our country, each one of us is faced with the monumental task of battling the wildlife war with less soldiers. Indeed, 35 new agents are forthcoming this Summer, however, by the time they are trained and ready for the field in the Fall, our ranks will have dwindled even further. With the loss of experienced agents, others will have to step up and fill in the gaps on our front lines. Our retired officers, such as SRA Patterson, SA Sommers and the generations before should be forever owed a debt of gratitude for their efforts to fight for wildlife protection and their dedication to fighting for some of the benefits we have today.

I sometimes wonder, however, if the apparent apathy present amongst our ranks today would change if we were faced with the same day-to-day struggles of our predecessors. I am concerned when only three or four Association members from Region I will take the time to respond to an election ballot request. Without active participation, the FWOA cannot remain viable for the very reasons it was formed 15 years ago.

For now, the FWOA will continue to work on promoting our organization and profession. We will take a visible role at the North American Wildlife Enforcement Officers Association (NAWOEA) conference being held in Omaha, NE this Summer. At the NAWEOA conference, we will sponsor the 1st Annual 5K Wildlife Officer Torch Run/Walk to help raise money for the wildlife officers memorial. We will also make another installment towards our own $5,000 pledge to the memorial as well as provide the FWOA hog roast for nearly 300 folks at the Sporting Clays competition. Other projects we

will continue to pursue is the creation of the FWOA scholarship and maintaining and improving our website over the next few years. We will also explore how the FWOA may be able to work with the International Ranger Federation (IRF) to assist in their efforts to support foreign officers on the front lines in the war against poaching endangered wildlife.

Although the Association is still thriving and has done a lot to perpetuate the federal wildlife officer profession over the years, we must not become complacent. We can expect that the day will come when a strong association, now fortified with younger troops, will need to be ready to fight for what is right and continue to battle for the wildlife. Participation is a must so let's all get involved.

1st Annual Torch Run/Walk

It is exciting to see that an idea the Association Board presented last Summer at the NAWEOA conference in New York has blossomed into a reality. The FWOA is proud to announce that we will be sponsoring the 1st Annual NAWEOA Museum 5K Torch Run/Walk at the upcoming NAWEOA conference in Omaha, NE in an effort to raise money for the wildlife officers memorial being built at the museum. Randy Hancock, president NAWEOA, has asked that the FWOA be the lead sponsor for this event for future NAWEOA conferences as well and the FWOA has given a commitment to the Indiana Conservation Officers Association for the year 2002 conference.

As proposed, the FWOA will initiate and seek donations from various State and Federal wildlife officer associations throughout North America to offset the costs associated with sponsoring the event. By making a donation, the respective wildlife officer associations will have their name appear on the back of a commemorative Torch Run T-shirt. The T-shirts will commemorate and honor any wildlife officer killed in the line of duty during that previous year. In addition to receiving the T-shirts, a unique FWOA award provided by the Association, will also be presented to winners in the various categories.

The FWOA will collect entry fees from all participants. The entry fees, in addition to any unused donation monies will be presented to the NAWEOA Museum during the conference to assist in the building of the wildlife officers memorial in South Dakota.

This inaugural Torch Run was developed by Mark Webb (Region 6) and the Nebraska Conservation Officers Association. 

For information concerning the 5K Torch Run/Walk see below or contact Mark Webb at 402.476.3747. If you have a contact with a State or Federal wildlife officer association in your respective state and that association would like to contribute a nominal donation to the project, they should contact President Tim Santel for details on the project.