Retired Fish And Game Officer Honored With National Award
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The following is a news release from Idaho Fish and Game.
Veteran Idaho Fish and Game Conservation officer Blake Phillips looked stunned as he stood before his colleagues gathered Saturday, April 16, to celebrate his recent retirement. His former boss, Enforcement Chief Greg Wooten just announced Phillips is the 2016 recipient of the Guy Bradley Award from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.
“I don’t think I deserve it” was Phillips’ initial response.
Florida game warden Guy Bradley was killed in 1905, the first game warden in the country to lose his life in the line of duty. In 1988, NFWF established the award in his name to recognize individuals who have made outstanding lifetime contributions to wildlife law. Chief Wooten, and many others who nominated Phillips for the Bradley Award, said he absolutely deserves it.
“Blake is the most honorable and duty-oriented person I know,” Wooten said. “I have benefitted greatly from his experience. He maintained a high level of productivity throughout his career, and he set an example we should all emulate.”
Fish and Game Southeast Regional Supervisor Mark Gamblin said Phillips had one of the longest and most-productive careers he’s seen at Fish and Game.
“Blake built a well-earned reputation for scrupulous honesty, personal integrity and stellar public service,” Gamblin said. “Blake’s career is an example for all Fish and Game employees, and I am proud to have served the Idaho public with Blake Phillips.”
Phillips career started 36 years ago as a research technician. In 1983, he landed his dream job as a Conservation Officer and made $8.25 an hour. Phillips says he was in heaven. Other than four years working in Garden Valley, Phillips spent most of his career patrolling the Southeast Region.
“I got to know most every cranny in the region,” Phillips said.
In 2014, he capped his career by becoming the Assistant Enforcement Chief, based in Boise.
“I can’t think of a day, other than maybe when I had to testify in court, that I didn’t look forward to going to work,” he said.
One event early in his career profoundly affected him – the 1981 killings of Conservation Officers Bill Pogue and Conley Elms by a suspected poacher.
“That incident changed Idaho Fish and Game, gave me a new appreciation and perspective on what being a Conservation Officer meant, and the risk associated with the position,” Phillips said.
In the following years, Phillips befriended Dee Pogue and Cheri Elms, the widows of his fallen colleagues. He was honored by their presence at Saturday’s retirement celebration.
After two days to reflect on receiving the Guy Bradley award, Phillips wrote: “I can only say I am humbled and feel so underserving of such accolades and recognition. I have worked with so many great men and women, not only at Idaho Fish and Game, but other agencies also. If I have done a few things right over my career, it is more because of what I learned from them than anything I have done. It has been an honor and a privilege to serve the people of the state of Idaho as a protector of the beauty, resources and wildlife of the great state of Idaho.”