Wildlife law enforcement officer recognized for partnerships funding coastal habitat protection

In the wake of oil spills off coastal New England that killed wildlife and destroyed wildlife habitat over the past 12 years, Special Agent Christopher Dowd helped secure $17.4 million in criminal fines to protect and restore critically important coastal wetlands. Dowd’s highly successful efforts working with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and other agencies and partners to investigate oil spills, prosecute the perpetrators, and direct funds to restore wildlife habitat, have earned him the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Northeast Region’s John S. Gottschalk Partnership Award.

"It has been a great privilege to have played a role in conserving this nation’s fish, wildlife and wild places," Dowd said. Dowd, resident agent in charge of the Service’s law enforcement operations in New England, played an important role in documenting wildlife impacts from the 1996 North Cape oil spill in Rhode Island, resulting in the largest fines for an oil spill in the continental United States at that time. Then he worked with prosecutors to direct part of the fines to projects restoring natural resources most damaged by the spill, including 1,673 acres of coastal marsh. Dowd worked to direct criminal fines from three more oil spills to fund wetland conservation projects in Massachusetts and Rhode and leverage matching funds from 15 partner organizations to protect and restore 1,773 acres of coastal wetlands and adjacent uplands. These successful projects encouraged the U.S. Attorney’s office to direct a settlement for illegal discharge of oily bilge water to be spent on coastal wetlands in Massachusetts, where they were used in Great Marsh and Buzzards Bay and leveraged partner funds to restore an additional 619 acres. In addition, fines collected after an oil spill in Massachusetts’ Mystic River will be spent on coastal wetland restoration in Boston Harbor and other coastal locations. In 2008, Dowd received the National fish and Wildlife Foundation’s Guy Bradley Award honoring his more than three decades of protecting wildlife from threats such as environmental contaminants, encroaching development and illegal commercialization. He also received the Department of the Interior’s Medal of Valor in 1987, recognizing his role in rescuing an elderly couple from their burning home in Maine. "I have been very fortunate to have worked with countless outstanding people in the Service," Dowd said. "These dedicated and selfless professionals have enriched both my professional and personal life." The Massachusetts native began his career with the Service’s Office of Law Enforcement in 1975 as a coop student while attending Northeastern University’s College of Criminal Justice. Upon graduation in 1976, Dowd was hired as a special agent and assigned to the Service’s law enforcement office at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City. He subsequently transferred to the Boston office in 1980 and was selected as resident agent in charge in 2003. The Gottschalk award, first presented in 1993, recognizes Service employees in the Northeast Region who have developed successful conservation partnerships with public or private sector agencies, organizations, companies or individuals. Gottschalk was a fisheries biologist who served as regional director for the Service in the northeast from 1959 to 1964 and as the Service’s director from 1964 to 1971. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service works with others to conserve, protect, and enhance fish, wildlife, plants, and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. We are both a leader and a trusted partner in fish and wildlife conservation, known for our scientific excellence, stewardship of lands and natural resources, dedicated professionals, and commitment to public service. For more information about our work and the people who make it happen, visit http://www.fws.gov.

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