Santa Fe, NM -(AmmoLand.com)- Shikar Safari Club International has named New Mexico Department of Game and Fish Corporal Curtis Coburn the 2015 New Mexico Wildlife Conservation Officer of the Year.
Coburn received the award at the department’s second annual Governor’s Special Hunt Auction and Award Banquet on Feb. 20 in Albuquerque. Coburn, 35, currently is stationed in Ruidoso. He is a 12-year veteran of the department and holds a bachelor’s degree in Forest/Wildlife Management from Western New Mexico University in Silver City.
Shikar Safari Club International annually presents awards to wildlife law enforcement officers in all 50 states and 10 Canadian provinces and territories. The club is dedicated to the protection, enhancement and preservation of wildlife, with particular emphasis on endangered and threatened species through the promotion of enforcement of conservation laws and regulations.
Coburn was lauded for his work with ranchers and land management agencies in modifying fences to allow pronghorn antelope to freely roam across a 28-mile area on them plains northeast of Capitan. His wildlife habitat improvement work to benefit mule deer within the Lincoln National Forest was also noted.
Coburn also has been named the 2015 Officer of the Year by the National Wild Turkey Federation.
About the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish:
To provide and maintain an adequate supply of wildlife and fish within the State of New Mexico by utilizing a flexible management system that provides for their protection, propagation, regulation, conservation, and for their use as public recreation and food supply.
For more information, visit: www.wildlife.state.nm.us.