Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission

Infobox Law enforcement agency
agencyname = Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
nativename =
nativenamea =
nativenamer =
commonname = Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
abbreviation = FWC
fictional =
patch =
patchcaption =

logocaption =
badge =
badgecaption =


flagcaption =
imagesize =
motto =
mottotranslated =
mission =
formedyear = 1999
formedmonthday = July 1
preceding1 = Marine Fisheries Commission
preceding2 = Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission
dissolved =
superseding =
employees = 1,883
volunteers =
budget =
nongovernment =
country = United States of America
countryabbr = U.S.
national =
federal =
international =
divtype = State
divname = Florida
divdab =
subdivtype =
subdivname =
subdivdab =


mapcaption =
sizearea = 170,304 km²
sizepopulation = 18,251,243
legaljuris = opsjuris
governingbody = Florida Legislature
governingbodyscnd =
constitution1 = Constitution of the State of Florida
police = yes
local =
military =
provost =
gendarmerie =
religious =
speciality1 = Natural Resources
speciality2 = Fishing and Hunting
speciality3 = Waterways
speciality4 = Homeland Security
secret =
overviewtype =
overviewbody =
headquarters = Tallahassee, Florida
hqloc

hqlocleft =
hqloctop =
hqlocmappoptitle =
sworntype = Law Enforcement Officer
sworn = 722 (2004)
unsworntype = Civilian
unsworn =
multinational =
electeetype =
minister1name =
minister1pfo =
chief1name = Mr. Rodney Barreto
chief1position = Chairman
parentagency =
child1agency =
unittype =
unitname =
officetype =
officename =
provideragency =
uniformedas =
stationtype =
stations =
airbases =
lockuptype =
lockups =
vehicle1type =
vehicles1 =
boat1type =
boats1 =
aircraft1type =
aircraft1 =
animal1type =
animals1 =
person1name =
person1reason =
person1type =
programme1 =
activity1name =
activitytype =
anniversary1 =
award1 =
website = http://myfwc.com/
footnotes =
reference =

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) is a Florida governmental organization created in 1999 with the purpose of regulating the environment and enforcing environmental legislation in the state of Florida. Formerly known as the "Florida Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission," it combines the former offices of the Marine Fisheries Commission, Divisions of Marine Resources and Law Enforcement of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, and all of the employees and Commissioners of the former Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission, and is regulated by seven governor-appointed commissioners.

History

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, better known by its shortened acronym of FWC, was founded on July 1, 1999 as a result of a 1998 Florida Constitutional amendement approved in 1998. The creation of the FWC united several previously-separate organizations under a universal umbrella. The FWC is headquartered in Tallahassee, Florida, and has over 1,800 full-time employees. The FWC operates five regional offices, a Fish and Wildlife Research Institute, and 73 field offices across the state of Florida.

Departments

In addition to serving as the environmental regulatory agency for the state of Florida, the FWC operates as a law enforcement agency in Florida, and FWC officers can perform many police actions in the course of their duties. Alongside the law-enforcement aspects of the agency, the FWC operates several associate departments.

* [http://research.myfwc.com Fish and Wildlife Research Institute]

*Division of Hunting and Game Management

*Division of Habitat and Species Conservation

*Division of Freshwater Fisheries Management

*Division of Marine Fisheries Management

*Division of Law Enforcement [http://myfwc.com/law/]

*Office of Information Technology

*Office of Recreation Services

There are also three overarching divisions created for administrative purposes, which work primarily within the structure of the FWC itself. These are:

*Community Relations
*Office of Policy and Stakeholder Coordination

Commissioners

Commissioners of the FWC are appointed by the governor and confirmed by the legislature for five-year terms. Typically, commissioners come from different geographical areas of the state in order to ensure that the FWC adequately protects the entire state of Florida, but it is not unusual to have multiple commissioners from the same city or region.

Current commissioners: [http://myfwc.com/aboutus/commiss.html]
*Rodney Barreto (Miami) (Chairman)
*David K. Meehan (St. Petersburg)
*H.A. "Herky" Huffman (Deltona)
*Sandra T. Kaupe (Palm Beach)
*Richard A. Corbett (Tampa)
*Brian S. Yablonski (Tallahassee)
*Kathy Barco (Jacksonville)

new appointments

*Dwight Stephenson (Ft. Lauderdale)
*Kenneth Wright (Orlando)
*Ronald Bergeron Ft. Lauderdale

ee also

* List of law enforcement agencies in Florida

References

External links

* [http://myfwc.com/ Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission site]