Maryland Wild Turkey Federation Honors NRP Officer

Annapolis, Maryland (January 27, 2011) – The Maryland Chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation honored Maryland Natural Resources Police Corporal Mark McMillan as Conservation Officer of the Year at the State banquet on January 18, 2011 in Stevensville, Maryland.

Cpl. McMillan was honored for his dedication to Maryland’s resources and numerous hours he spent safeguarding the State’s wildlife and fisheries resources.

“Mark routinely requests to work on his scheduled days off to investigate and stake-out suspected poaching areas. Mark’s dedication has resulted in apprehending numerous poachers for illegally hunting wild turkeys and bears,” said Mark’s supervisor, Sgt. Dave Marple.

McMillan has been employed by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources since 1989 and currently works in Allegany and Garrett Counties. Cpl. McMillan is a very active in Maryland’s Hunter Safety and Education Program, which promotes safe and ethical hunting to sportsmen.

The National Wild Turkey Federation is a national nonprofit conservation organization that has worked for the conservation of the wild turkey and the preservation of hunting. It was established in 1973 when the wild turkey population was estimated at 1.3 million birds. Today, the population of the wild turkey is over seven million birds and hunting seasons have been established in 49 states.

The Maryland Natural Resources Police is the enforcement arm of the Department of Natural Resources (DNR). With an authorized strength of 247 officers and a dedicated staff of civilian and volunteer personnel, the NRP provide a variety of services in addition to conservation and boating law enforcement duties throughout the State of Maryland. These services include homeland security, search and rescue, emergency medical services, education, information and communications services on a round the clock basis. NRP is the only police force aside from the Maryland State Police that has statewide jurisdiction.

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources is the state agency responsible for providing natural and living resource-related services to citizens and visitors. DNR manages nearly one-half million acres of public lands and 17,000 miles of waterways, along with Maryland's forests, fisheries and wildlife for maximum environmental, economic and quality of life benefits. A national leader in land conservation, DNR-managed parks and natural, historic and cultural resources attract 11 million visitors annually. DNR is the lead agency in Maryland's effort to restore the Chesapeake Bay, the state's number one environmental priority. Learn more at Learn more at www.dnr.maryland.gov