U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Resident Agent in Charge George W. Morrison Jr. - who oversees U.S.F.W.S. law enforcement operations in Colorado, Utah, and Kansas - and Statewide Enforcement Specialist Alan G. Cain of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game have been selected to gain the Countrywide Fish and Wildlife Foundation's 2008 Guy Bradley Award for wildlife law enforcement.
Both recipients were recognized during the yearly North American Wildlife and Natural Resources Conference held in Arlington, Virginia, on March 19, 2009. The Guy Bradley Award is named after the 1st wildlife law enforcement officer killed in the line of duty in 1905, and is presented each year by the Countrywide Fish and Wildlife Foundation to recognize individuals for outstanding lifetime contributions to wildlife law enforcement.
"We're recognized to present the Guy Bradley Award to George Morrison and Alan Cain in recognition of their outstanding service in protecting and conserving our wildlife resources. Their dedication and accomplishments provide a model for all those charged with safeguarding wildlife and wildlife habitat," said Foundation Director Jeff Trandahl.
"We join the Foundation in applauding the accomplishments of these officers," said Service Acting Director Rowan Gould. "Their work, as well as that of all their state and federal law enforcement counterparts, truly makes a difference for wildlife."
Morrison, who has dedicated in excess of 30 years to protecting wildlife resources, was recognized for his success in conducting and directing undercover investigations and disrupting illegal wildlife trafficking. His work as an investigator and enforcement manager has improved protections for both U.S. and global wildlife resources.
As a field agent based in Colorado in the mid to late 1980s, Morrison distinguished himself in planning and carrying out undercover work targeting commercialization of wildlife. He exposed the illegal killing of big horn sheep in Wyoming and the unlawful hunting and importation of jaguar, ocelot and margay from Mexico. Another of his cases (which secured the prosecution of 56 individuals for killing and selling eagles, waterfowl, and big game) still stands as the biggest undercover investigation ever conducted in Colorado and New Mexico.
Morrison joined the Service's elite Special Operations unit in 1990 and spent the next ten years conducting multi-year covert investigations of large-scale wildlife trafficking. His casework included an undercover investigation in Alaska that exposed illegal walrus take and ivory trafficking. From 1994 to 2000, he infiltrated the global black market reptile trade, securing the convictions of one of the world's most notorious reptile dealers and dozens of other individuals for smuggling and selling rare species from Asia and Africa.
Morrison was also acknowledged for his contributions as a leader and manager. From 2002 to 2008, he worked as a field supervisor for the Special Operations unit, planning and managing undercover investigations that documented illegal trade in sea turtle skin, shell, and products from Mexico and China and international trafficking of protected cycads and orchids. He also helped coordinate regional investigations of reptile smugglers based in southeast Asia and directed a probe focused on the sale of rhino and tiger products in the U.S. traditional medicine market.
Morrison's accomplishments include his recent oversight of the U.S.F.W.S.'s law enforcement operations in 3 Western states, as well as efforts to develop and present training programs on undercover investigations. His students have included Service special agents, other federal investigators, state officers, and officers with the Canadian Wildlife Service.
The Foundation recognized Alan Cain for his contributions to protecting wildlife resources and habitat in Alaska. An officer with in excess of 30 years of service, Cain has conducted and supervised investigations targeting illegal commercial fishing and contributed to the effective management of wildlife law enforcement operations statewide.
As the only wildlife trooper in the coastal town of Haines in the late 1970s, Cain pioneered specialized investigative techniques that allowed him to apprehend violators of the state's commercial fishing laws who had previously eluded detection. From 1980 to 1988, he commanded a 38-foot patrol vessel based in Ketchikan, where he and his crew consistently exposed unlawful commercial fishing. He improved policing of the salmon industry in the area and was the 1st to use underwater enforcement techniques to monitor dive fisheries in southeast Alaska.
Cain joined a Statewide Investigations unit in 1988. His work with this group included conducting a three-year covert investigation of illegal salmon fishing that netted in excess of $750,000 in fines; supervising a case involving the sale of subsistence-caught salmon that secured in excess of $1.5 million in fines and the forfeiture of $4 million worth of boats; and completing an innovative investigation that utilized forensic science to document illegal crab harvest in areas closed to commercial crabbing.
Cain was also acknowledged for his supervision of field operations in South-Central Alaska in the mid 1990s and his decade-long service as the Statewide Diving Officer for the Alaska State Troopers -- a role in which he conducted and supervised dangerous underwater recovery operations at the sites of vessel sinkings, air crashes, and drowning incidents. As Operations Commander for state wildlife enforcement, he significantly improved officer access to safe, more mission-efficient vessels, aircraft, and vehicles.
In his current position as the Statewide Enforcement Specialist, Cain created and conducted a law enforcement training plan for in excess of 500 field biologists with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. He also helped secure legislation that authorized Alaska's participation in the Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact (an arrangement through which defendants who lose their hunting privileges in one state are automatically barred from hunting in any member state).
A nonprofit established by Congress in 1984, the Countrywide Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) sustains, restores, and enhances the Nation?s fish, wildlife, plants, and habitats. Through leadership conservation investments with public and private partners, NFWF is dedicated to achieving maximum conservation impact by developing and applying best practices and innovative methods for measurable outcomes. Since its establishment, NFWF has awarded over 10,000 grants to over 3,500 organizations in the U.S. and abroad and leveraged -- with its partners -- in excess of $400 million in federal funds into in excess of $1.4 billion for on-the-ground conservation. For more information, visit www.nfwf.org.
The mission of the U.S.F.W.S. is working with others to conserve, protect and enhance fish, wildlife, plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. We are both a leader and trusted partner in fish and wildlife conservation, known for our scientific excellence, stewardship of lands and natural resources, dedicated professionals and commitment to public service. For more information on our work and the people who make it happen, visit www.fws.gov.
