RALEIGH, N.C. (March 4, 2005) — One of the state’s finest is also one of the Southeast’s.

Edwin Grant, an 18-year veteran of the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission, has been named the year’s top wildlife officer in North Carolina and in the 16-state Southeastern region. Grant, assigned to Macon County, has worked several high-profile cases, including a poaching ring that yielded hundreds of state and federal wildlife charges.

“Officer Grant had a year that most enforcement officers dream of having,” said Capt. Gary Broome, wildlife enforcement supervisor for the state’s 12 westernmost counties.

A native of the North Carolina mountains, Grant also helped the FBI find two campsites of suspected bomber Eric Rudolph. After Rudolph’s capture in Murphy, Grant and his bloodhound, Nitro, backtracked to one of the fugitive’s mountain hideouts.

“Based on some of the things he said when they interviewed him, we located a second camp,” Grant said.

He has taught dog training and handling to law enforcement officers across the nation, as far away as South Dakota and Texas. Besides Nitro the bloodhound, Grant has trained a cadaver dog — a German shepherd named Ursa — that has located eight drowning and five murder victims.

Grant also enjoys instructing younger wildlife enforcement officers. He teaches driving and swimming to officer recruits and frequently takes new officers assigned to the area under his wing.

“It can be hard and time-consuming,” Grant said of patrolling the woods and waters for hunting, fishing and boating violators. “You’ve especially got to develop a knowledge of the outdoors.”

Grant put his skills and experience to the test against a poaching ring that was ravaging western North Carolina’s game animals. A task force of state and federal agencies charged 15 people with 274 violations, mostly shining deer and hunting deer and turkey out of season. Although several cases remain outstanding, various state and federal courts have assessed nearly $30,000 in fines and restitutions and revoked 28 years worth of hunting licenses.

Several of the poachers had previously been caught by Grant — some more than once. “Catching those violators, especially the hunting cases, is one of the most satisfying things about this job,” he said. “We serve the public when we catch the people who are ruining the wildlife resource for everybody.”

His big year caught the attention of the state chapter of the Wildlife Federation, which named him North Carolina Wildlife Enforcement Officer of the Year. The award automatically entered him for consideration as Officer of the Year by the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, which represents 16 states.

“To be chosen from 215 wildlife enforcement officers in the state is a big honor in itself,” said Col. Kenneth Everhart, chief of enforcement for the N.C. Wildlife Commission. “For him to be the top officer in 16 states, that’s awesome.”

Grant is a member of Franklin First Baptist Church and is active with youth sports. He and his wife, Lisa, have two teen-agers, Ashley and Landon.

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