Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
| Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission | |
| Common name | Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission |
| Abbreviation | FWC |
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| Patch of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. | |
| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | July 1, 1999 |
| Preceding agencies |
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| Employees | 1,883 |
| Legal personality | Governmental: Government agency |
| Jurisdictional structure | |
| Operations jurisdiction* | State of Florida, United States |
| Size | 170,304 km2 |
| Population | 18,251,243 |
| Governing body | Florida Legislature |
| Constituting instrument | Constitution of the State of Florida |
| General nature | |
| Specialist jurisdictions | |
| Operational structure | |
| Headquarters | Tallahassee, Florida |
| Law enforcement officers | 722 (2004) |
| Agency executive | Rodney Barreto, Chairman |
| Website | |
| myfwc.com | |
| Footnotes | |
| * Divisional agency: Division of the country, over which the agency has usual operational jurisdiction. | |
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) is a Florida government agency charged with managing the state's fish and wildlife resources, regulating Florida's fisheries and wildlife, and enforcing related laws. Besides managers, research, and support personnel, the FWC operates as a law enforcement agency; FWC officers can perform many police functions in the course of their duties.
A similar agency, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) serves as the environmental regulatory agency for the state of Florida, enforcing environmental legislation (air and water quality for example).
The FWC is headquartered in Tallahassee, the state capital. It has over 1,800 full-time employees and maintains a Fish and Wildlife Research Institute, five regional offices, and 73 field offices across the state. Seven commissioners are appointed by the governor.
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[edit] History
The FWC was established on July 1, 1999 as a result of an amendment to the Florida Constitution approved in 1998. The FWC was a result of a merger between the former offices of the Marine Fisheries Commission, Division of Marine Resources and Division of Law Enforcement of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, and all of the employees and Commissioners of the former Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission.
[edit] Departments
The FWC has several divisions:
- Fish and Wildlife Research Institute
- Division of Hunting and Game Management
- Division of Habitat and Species Conservation
- Division of Freshwater Fisheries Management
- Division of Marine Fisheries Management
- Division of Law Enforcement
- Office of Information Technology
- Office of Recreation Services
The FWC also has three overarching divisions created for administrative purposes: Community Relations and the Office of Policy and Stakeholder Coordination
[edit] Commissioners
Commissioners of the FWC are appointed by the governor and confirmed by the legislature for five-year terms. Typically, commissioners come from different geographical areas of the state in order to ensure that the FWC adequately protects the entire state of Florida, but it is not unusual to have multiple commissioners from the same city or region.
Current commissioners:[1]
- Rodney Barreto (Miami, Florida) (Chairman)
- Richard A. Corbett (Tampa, Florida) (Vice Chairman)
- Kathy Barco (Jacksonville, Florida)
- Ronald M. Bergeron (Ft. Lauderdale, Florida)
- Dwight Stephenson (Delray Beach, Florida)
- Kenneth W. Wright (Winter Park, Florida)
- Brian S. Yablonski (Tallahassee, Florida)
[edit] See also
[edit] References
[edit] External links
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