Special Agent Edward Dominguez, a criminal investigator with the U.S.F.W.S. Office of Law Enforcement in Las Vegas, Nevada, and Major Paul Hoover, who recently retired from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, have received the Countrywide Fish and Wildlife Foundation=s 2005 Guy Bradley Award.
The award recognizes Dominguez and Hoover for their lifetime contributions to the protection of the Nation=s wildlife resources. Foundation Executive Director John Berry presented the awards at the yearly North American Wildlife and Natural Resources Conference in Arlington, Virginia, on March 17, 2005.
?We?re recognized to present the Guy Bradley Award to Special Agent Dominguez and Major Hoover, who have dedicated a combined fifty-four years of service to protect the Nation?s wildlife. Their important work has helped to conserve many plants and animals in the southwest, Texas and Florida,? Berry said.
?We join the Foundation in applauding the accomplishments of these officers,? said Service Director Steve Williams. AEd Dominguez, Paul Hoover, and their State and Federal counterparts truly make a difference for wildlife.?
Dominguez, who began his law enforcement career as a Texas game warden before joining the Service in 1984, was acknowledged for his contributions to resource protection in Texas, Nevada, and California. He spent 3 years investigating wildlife crimes with the Service?s law enforcement office in Los Angeles before transferring to Nevada in 1987.
Over the years, Dominguez has helped strengthen safeguards for endangered species; stem unlawful commercial exploitation of protected animals and plants; and preserve hunting opportunities. His investigation of a Nevada construction company that crushed threatened desert tortoises bolstered habitat protection efforts under the Endangered Species Act. His work also helped safeguard native animals and plants from unlawful commercial exploitation. In the late 1990s, for example, he orchestrated a joint Federal/State investigation of the unlawful collection and interstate sale of venomous Nevada reptiles. He has also teamed successfully with the Nevada Department of Wildlife and fish and game agencies in neighboring States to stop illegal hunting activities, including interstate license fraud and airborne hunting.
Dominguez?s efforts to combat wildlife smuggling have helped disrupt large-scale profiteering in global resources. He contributed to a complex, multi-defendant investigation that broke up a sophisticated bird trafficking network smuggling Australian bird eggs and headed a multi-agency probe that exposed a Las Vegas nursery trafficking in cacti and other protected plants from around the world.
Most recently, Dominguez served on an interagency team that uncovered the theft of thousands of Native American artifacts and documented $500,000 worth of damage to archeological sites on Federal lands in the Southwest. The team secured the felony convictions of 5 individual collectors and an ATV tour company; penalties included in excess of $420,000 in fines and restitution and the longest prison sentence ever for a first-time offender under the Archeological Resources Protection Act.
The Foundation recognized Major Hoover for his leadership in wildlife law enforcement and success in protecting wildlife resources in the State of Florida over a 30-year period. Hoover?s service as a wildlife enforcement officer began in 1974 in Dixie County, where he excelled at catching poachers and earned recognition as Florida?s Wildlife Officer of the Year for 1977.
From 1979 through 1990, Hoover supervised the State?s wildlife protection efforts in Leon County. He and his officers policed prime waterfowl habitat; helped safeguard resources in 6 wildlife management areas, a Countrywide forest, and a National wildlife refuge; and completed successful enforcement efforts involving environmental violations on public and private lands.
Hoover moved to State headquarters in 1990, where his responsibilities as the 1st enforcement bureau staff officer at that level included emergency operations. In the aftermath of Hurricane Andrew, he developed an expense tracking system that allowed the State to collect $2.7 million in Federal emergency funds as reimbursement for recovery and restoration costs.
From 1994 to 1999, Hoover served as Bureau Chief of Operations and Investigations for the State, overseeing 5 regional enforcement entities. His leadership contributions included a K-9 plan acknowledged as one of the best in the nation; an expanded focus on endangered species enforcement and illegal wildlife trafficking; and improved planning to set priorities for enforcement work.
Hoover also played a leadership role in resolving management issues after components of several State agencies were combined in 1999 to create the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. His service as Chief of West Field Operations and Chief of Staff for the Division of Law Enforcement sustained effective safeguards for wildlife during a period of organizational and administrative change.
The Guy Bradley Award, named after the 1st wildlife law enforcement officer killed in the line of duty in 1905, is a Countrywide honor presented each year by the Countrywide Fish and Wildlife Foundation to recognize individuals for outstanding lifetime contributions to wildlife law enforcement.
The Countrywide Fish and Wildlife Foundation is a nonprofit organization established by Congress in 1984 and dedicated to the conservation of fish, wildlife and plants, and the habitat on which they depend. The organization creates partnerships between the public and private sectors to strategically invest in conservation and the sustainable use of natural resources. The Foundation distributed 709 grants in 2004 and has leveraged -- with its partners -- in excess of $305 million in Federal funds since its establishment, for a total of in excess of $918 million in on-the-ground conservation. For more information, visit www.nfwf.org.
