Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation
Commission
by Reserve Officer Steve
Cohen
Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission
Stationed in
Broward County
(Ft. Lauderdale)
INDEX
NRLO is proud to report
on this group of special, Reserve Officers. Thank you,
Officer Cohen, for letting NRLO Members nationwide and other
"Reserve Law
OFFICER" readers know about the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission's
Reserves in Broward County.
Introduction
The Reserve Program is made up of dedicated
individuals who assist the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation
Commission's (FWC) Division of Law Enforcement in their mission to
protect the state's wildlife, fresh and saltwater aquatic life, and
human resources. Reservists are located throughout the state
and are assigned to a specific region. They are sworn Law
Enforcement Officers who volunteer their time and work under the
direct supervision of FWS Law Enforcement personnel.
(PHOTOGRAPHS Provided by FWC's
Reserve Officer Steve Cohen)
In the photograph above-right, State
Reserve Officer Steve Cohen, stationed in Broward County (Ft.
Lauderdale) is shown presenting the FWC education display at a
recent Palm Beach County Fair. Officer Cohen told
NRLO, "Public education and information about Florida's natural
resources is one of the primary roles of the FWC
Reserves."
In the photograph at left is Officer Cohen with one of
the older style vehicles used to tow the
display.
Officer Cohen said, "Our new vehicles
are standard issue Patrol vehicles for FWC Officers. At
present all are Ford and Dodge products. Currently there are a
few in the pool for Reservists to use for special occasions and for
travel (it's a big state)." 
Reservists mostly Patrol with full-time FWC Officers
in their take-home vehicles such as the one shown at right.
After visiting the FWC's extraordinary
site, NRLO learned that the Division of Law
Enforcement (click on
Reserves) is charged with the vital responsibility of
providing wildlife and marine Law Enforcement services along more
than 8,400 miles of Florida's saltwater coastline and 37 million
acres of land and fresh water. Florida Fish and Wildlife Officers
(sworn, state Law Enforcement Officers will full powers of arrest)
are employed to carry out this task.
Back to INDEX
The C.T.
Randall - Florida Fish and Wildlife
Conservation Commission Reserve Officer Cohen, stationed in Broward
County (Ft. Lauderdale), describes their vessel as a new, 65-foot,
offshore Patrol Boat which was dedicated January, 2004. He
said that the $1.15 million C.T. Randall is based in Port
Canaveral and is tasked with protecting the deep ocean Oculina
Reef. Officer Cohen added, "The boat was named
after a recently lost brother (full-time Officer Charles
Randall). On October 28, 2001, Officer Randall (32
years old) and Officer Roy R. Burnset, Jr. died when in an
accident while they were Patroling for poachers that night in the
wildlife management area between Broward and Palm Beach
Counties."
Back to INDEX
***************************************************************
FWC Reserve Applicant
Requirements
Each Reservist applicant
must participate in an oral interview and successfully pass a
comprehensive background investigation as part of the selection
process. In addition, each applicant will be required to
successfully complete Law Enforcement training approved by the
Florida Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission http://www.fdle.state.fl.us/cjst/Commission/. The applicant is responsible for the cost of
this training that consists of a minimum of 272 hours.
Once appointed, each Reservist
must purchase their uniform(s), service weapon, leather gunbelt,
holster, and accessories. Each Reservist will be required to
complete a 30-hour field training program within six months of
their original appointment.
Back to
INDEX
************************************
Additional Links
You are
encouraged to visit the FWC's beautiful site. Just click on
the links in the articles above. Here are more links
to their site: Main link:
http://myfwc.com ; site map: http://myfwc.com/sitemap.htm ; see videos concerning the purpose
of the Divisons of Wildlife: http://myfwc.com/aboutus/aboutfwc.html .
Web Author
Note: Florida State Reserve Officer Steve
Cohen would also like to trade patches. Click here to
go to NRLO's Collector's page for more information.
Back to INDEX
***************************************************************
Queen Mary 2 Arrives in Port
Everglades
Written by Reserve Officer Steve
Cohen
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation
Commission
(All photographs of the Queen Mary 2 were
taken by FWC Reserve Officer Steve
Cohen)
At 0715 hrs on
Monday, January 27, 2004, it was an exciting event when the
Queen Mary 2 arrived at FWC's home port, Port Everglades.
Our agency is involved with port security and has been since
9-11-01.
(PHOTOGRAPH AT
RIGHT SHOWS THE QUEEN MARY 2 ENTERING PORT EVERGLADES. PORT
EVERGLADES FALLS WITHIN THE BROWARD COUNTY FWC PATROL
AREA.) 
As
a Reservist for Florida Fish and Wildlife, I am stationed in Broward
County (Ft. Lauderdale); and Port Everglades falls within our
Patrol area.
We have a
substation at the port with dock facilities for our Patrol Boats
(mostly Mako 25 ft. and similar).
(PHOTOGRAPH AT
LEFT SHOWS THE QUEEN MARY 2 AS VIEWED FROM ACROSS THE BASIN AT PORT
EVERGLADES) 
We
assisted with both land and water security for the arrival of the
Queen Mary 2 in conjunction with Broward County Sheriff's Office,
Coast Guard (Miami and Ft. Lauderdale), and U.S.
Customs. 
(PHOTOGRAPH ABOVE RIGHT SHOWS THE QUEEN MARY 2 IN
FULL VIEW AS SHE ENTERED PORT EVERGLADES)
While there were no specific
threats identified, the U.S. Navy Destroyer USS Carney also
accompanied the Queen Mary 2 into port.
(PHOTOGRAPH AT LEFT SHOWS THE QUEEN MARY 2 BEING
ESCORTED INTO PORT EVERGLADES BY U.S. NAVY DESTROYER, USS
CARNEY)
Here are some stats on the Queen Mary
2:
a
She was built in France and is owned by Cunard
(British) Cruise Lines.
a She
is a 150,000-ton vessel (It's hard to find Captains who are rated
for such a large vessel.) The Queen Mary 1 was about 82,000
tons.
a She is 1,132
feet long (almost 4 football fields long) and 131 feet wide.
(PHOTOGRAPH ABOVE SHOWS THE QUEEN MARY
2 BEING BIRTHED AT PORT EVERGLADES AND BEING ESCORTED BY THE U.S.
DESTROYER USS CARNEY SHOWN JUST BEHIND HER)
a She can
carry 3,874 total souls on board (2,260 passengers and 1,254
crew).
a She
cruises at 30 knots (about 35 mps) which is fast for a cruise
ship.
a She cost
$800 million+ to build.
a
She was beautiful to watch coming
in.
For more information about the
Queen Mary 2, go to http://www.cunard.com/QM2/home.asp.
Back to INDEX
*****************************************************************************
Page originated 2004/01/26
NATIONAL RESERVE LAW
OFFICERS
P.O. BOX 6505 SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS
78209
(210) 805-8917 FAX (210)
804-2463 | 
