Mark Chase Named New Refuge Law Enforcement Chief

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has named Mark Chase, a 20-year Service veteran, to head its Division of Refuge Law Enforcement. Chase, who reported to his new post in September, will lead more than 470 full-time and dual-function refuge officers on the 545-unit National Wildlife Refuge System.

Chase will head efforts to enforce laws concerning not only wildlife and conservation, but also border security and drug trafficking and cultivation on national wildlife refuges. He will also be responsible for assuring the safety and security of refuge visitors.

Chase was first commissioned as a U.S. Refuge Officer in 1988 after completing Basic Police Training at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Glynco, Georgia. Chase has also held a variety of posts on wildlife refuges in Alaska, Arizona, Oklahoma and Texas. Most recently, Chase was the Project Leader for the Detroit Lakes Wetland Management District in Minnesota.

Chase will implement the Refuge System’s first law enforcement deployment model, developed by the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP). It uses workload and hazard analyses to develop recommended staffing levels. This is the first deployment model the IACP has developed for a federal land management agency.

For more information, contact Jerry Olmsted, Office of Refuge Law Enforcement, (703) 358-1725.