NAWEOA

The 29th Annual Conference of the North American Wildlife Enforcement Officer Association is scheduled for July 14-18, at the Four Points Sheraton Pittsburgh North, near Cranberry Township, Butler County.

Opening Ceremonies will take place on Wednesday, July 14, at 8 a.m. at Four Points Sheraton, and will include the annual tribute to fallen officers.  All officers in attendance from all jurisdictions will be in uniform for opening ceremonies.

State Game Land 93 Dedication and Flight 93 National Memorial:  On Thursday, July 15, conference attendees will tour the Flight 93 National Memorial.  Following the tour, attendees will proceed to a ceremony on State Game Lands 93, which is about 2.5 miles from the Memorial, where the Game Commission will dedicate this State Game Land to the 40 passengers and crew of United Airlines Flight 93. State Game Lands 93 was acquired by the agency in 2006, and contains 665 acres, part of which lies within the boundaries of the National Memorial. A special memorial and habitat area has been created on SGL 93 in honor of one of the passengers of Flight 93, Richard J. Guadagno, who was a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Refuge Manager and a fellow Wildlife Enforcement Officer.  An honor guard of USFWS Refuge Officers will be placing a wreath at the memorial to Richard Guadagno as part of the ceremony. USFWS National Wildlife Refuge System Assistant Director Greg Siekaniec will speak at the ceremony, as well as Game Commission Deputy Executive Director Matt Hough, and Game Commission Southwest Region Land Management Supervisor Barry Zaffuto.

Created in 1980, the North American Wildlife Enforcement Officer Association (NAWEOA) has a membership base of more than 8,000 wildlife conservation officers throughout North America.  NAWEOA holds an annual training conference that attracts up to 500 field officers from 60 different agencies from the United States, Canada and Mexico. The organization administers the NAWEOA Fallen Officer Fund, which financially aids the families of Conservation Officers killed in the line of duty.