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North Carol ina Wi ldl i fe Resources Commi ss ion • 15

and rate the functionality of a wetland. The resulting North Carolina Wetland Assessment Method takes no more than 15 minutes to apply, has been feld tested at more than 200 sites across the state, and exemplifes how technology can be leveraged to reduce project time and cost while preserving ecosystem integrity and function.

Exceptional Environmental Education Program Award

Our Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education won the 2012 Exceptional Environmental Education Program Award from the Environmental Educators of North Carolina organization, recognizing excellence in environmental education.

NATIONAL BOATING ACCESS PROGRAM EXCELLENCE AWARD

In 2012, the States Organization devoted to the acquisition, development and administration of public recreational boating facilities, awarded the North Carolina Wildlife Commission the State Boating Access Program Excellence Award. The Commission maintains more than 200 free, public boating access areas for over 350,000 registered North Carolina vessels and for vessels trailered from other states.

The award refects a concerted effort among partners, such as local governments, the N.C. Division of Marine Fish­ eries and the N.C. General Assembly. Outcomes of these partnerships allow the Commission to maintain open access to North Carolina’s public waters.

2012 Governor’s Award for Excellence for Outstanding Service

Sgt. Anthony Sharum, a wildlife law enforcement offcer with the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission, received the 2012 Governor’s Award for Excellence for Outstanding Service. The award acknowledges and expresses appreciation for outstanding accomplishments that do not fall entirely within the scope of normal duties.

Sgt. Sharum performed above and beyond the call of duty last December. While charging a hunter for not having a hunting license, he discovered that the man was an unemployed single father with a 9-year old daughter at home. They were living in a rented trailer with little furniture and a kerosene heater. Food was limited.

Sgt. Sharum initiated a project to help the family through his network of professional colleagues and on social media. A local businessman donated a hunting license. Local churches, civic groups and neighbors provided clothes, household items and food. A fund was established to assist with immediate utility bills, fuel costs and other fnancial needs.

Sgt. Anthony Sharum’s service was recognized to be singularly outstanding and deserving of the highest award an N.C. state employee can receive.

WILDILIFE MANAGEMENT EXCELLENCE AWARD

Benjy Strope, a technical assistance biologist with the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission, was given the Wildlife Management Excellence Award from the Southeastern Section of The Wildlife Society. The award recognizes his work in establishing and managing early-successional habitat on corp­ orate-owned agriculture lands and farms in southeastern North Carolina.

Strope, who has worked at the Commission for 11 years, has been instrumental in securing and managing $566,000 in grant funds to implement more than 1,000 acres of habitat improvements. This year, the area in which he worked dem­ onstrated what is likely the highest density of quail populations in North Carolina.

Strope mainly works with corporate farmers, successfully entering this agricultural community and convincing farmers that making a proft can be accomplished while providing habitat and improving water quality.

The N.C. Sea Turtle Project

2012 was a good year for sea turtle nesting on North Carolina’s coast. Sea turtles laid 1,103 nests along North Carolina’s coast— up from 967 in the previous year and 883 in 2010, the second highest since the project beginning, thanks to the help of over 600 volunteers.