08/31/2010 Bend

Hundreds of bears, deer and other animals fall victim to illegal hunters in Central Oregon and it's nine Oregon State Police Fish and Wildlife troopers in the region bringing justice. "Fish and wildlife officers I think in a lot of ways are a little bit different in the fact that we're very passionate about wildlife law enforcement and protecting the resource," said Senior Trooper Mark Prodzinski.

Tuesday morning they were presented with not one, but two awards for their work. The team itself earned the 2009 Team of the Year award. "This is a team that exemplifies all of their team work and dedication to working natural resources and exemplifying what a state trooper does," said Oregon State Police Fish and Wildlife Division Captain Jeff Samuels.
On the team for six years and with OSP for 12, Senior Trooper James Hayes earned the 2009 Trooper of the Year award. "The officer of the year is given to that fish and wildlife trooper that has gone above and beyond the call of duty," explained Captain Samuels.

"It's nice to be recognized, I know that I work hard and it's nice that our team is recognized but the awards aren't why we do the job," Senior Trooper James Hayes.

This is the fourth year OSP is recognizing teams and individuals, the first time Central Oregon won, and the first time both awards went to the same region. The team has brought numerous criminal cases to a close. "If we have a situation where there's some illegal kills and it's a closed season, we're going to basically treat it like it's a homicide scene and we're going to be looking for trace evidence using all the tools that we're given to solve cases," said Senior Trooper Prodzinski.

With a passion like theirs, no case is left untouched.