Wildlife Dispatchers, the Voices Behind 1-800-662-7137
Jan
13
Written by:
1/13/2012 9:05 AM
Some of the most important people for the outdoors work indoors.
Dispatchers with the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission spend their careers in an insulated, security-sealed room on the fourth floor of headquarters in Raleigh, but the work they do enables Wildlife Officers in the field to do their job more effectively and safely. Dispatchers are on duty 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year for the Wildlife Commission. The dispatch center holds phones, radios for a statewide network, computers that link to licenses files, criminal records and boating registration. They receive hundreds of calls a day from the public, other agencies and with wildlife officers.
Telecommunications supervisor Kelvin Moses says when it comes to watching out for conservation and sportsmen, “you can’t underestimate the role of the general public. People will work with you; they really are an extra set of eyes and ears in the field.”
Dispatchers are the unseen but heard heroes of the Commission. But don’t call to thank them: Use the toll free number for official business only.