FWC Officer of the Year and Louise Ireland Humphrey Achievement Award Announced

BRADENTON -- The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission presented Officer Lee Lawshe of the FWC with the 2014 Law Enforcement Officer of the Year award when it met last week. The board also recognized wildlife scientist Joan Berish with the 2013 Louise Ireland Humphrey Achievement Award.

The Shikar-Safari Club International named Lawshe its 2013 Wildlife Officer of the Year during the FWC Commission meeting at the Florida Public Safety Institute near Tallahassee.

“Lawshe stands out among the FWC’s 853 officers in the field and has proved to be an exemplary officer and an asset to the state’s citizens and natural resources,” said Col. Calvin Adams, director of the FWC’s Division of Law Enforcement, explaining why Lawshe was the FWC’s Officer of the Year and why he was recently selected to receive the Florida Wildlife Federation’s Wildlife Officer of the Year award and the State Law Enforcement Chiefs Association’s SLECA Officer of the Yearaward.

“In 2013, his notable activities included rescuing a man missing for days in a swamp, apprehending a suspect during a manhunt, and catching people illegally harvesting redfish, trespassing and harming gopher tortoises,” Adams said. “He represents the best of what an FWC officer should be.”

Supervisors describe Lawshe, who works in St. Johns County, as a team player within the FWC and with its partner law enforcement agencies, taking what he calls a “helping hand” approach to his work, whether that is mentoring, doing outreach, joining manhunts or rescuing people.

He joined the FWC in 2008, coming to the agency from a family of outdoorsmen, from Airborne Ranger School and with awards for his tour in the Middle East in a Quick Reaction Force.

Shikar-Safari Club International is a conservation-based organization that presents awards annually to wildlife law enforcement officers in all states, provinces and territories in the United States and Canada. The annual award honors a state officer whose efforts show outstanding performance and achievement among sworn fish and wildlife law enforcement personnel.

Berish, who has worked for the FWC more than 33 years and lives in Gainesville, has been at the forefront of work involving conserving and managing gopher tortoises, a listed species in Florida. Berish’s work has benefited not only gopher tortoises but also a host of other species that live in and are dependent on active gopher tortoise burrows to survive.

She has authored or co-authored 33 publications on gopher tortoises and has written a chapter on tortoise biology and management for a book on North American tortoises, which is scheduled for publication (John Hopkins Press) this summer.

“The Wildlife Foundation of Florida is proud of all FWC employees and their efforts on behalf of Florida’s fish and wildlife resources. This year’s Louise Ireland Humphrey Achievement Award nominees were all deserving candidates,” said Ken Haddad, chairman of the Wildlife Foundation of Florida and a former FWC executive director.

“Joan Berish is an outstanding wildlife scientist and her 33-plus-year career and commitment to conserving gopher tortoises and upland ecosystems reflects a lifetime achievement.”

Since its inception, Berish has spearheaded and served on the Gopher Tortoise Council, a management team that involves both wildlife scientists and laypeople who have a strong interest in gopher tortoise management. Berish and the council have been instrumental in developing management guidelines, which today guide landowners, developers and others who encounter tortoises on their property or wish to see the species prosper.

The Louise Ireland Humphrey Achievement Award is named after the late Louise Ireland Humphrey, a Leon County resident and owner of Woodfield Springs Plantation, and the first woman appointed to serve on the board of the then-Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission in 1984. Humphrey served until 1999 and was recognized as a conservationist, for her love of the land, particularly the Red Hills area north of Tallahassee, and for her leadership style on fish and wildlife issues. The award reflects the mission that guided her and the FWC, which centers on conservation.