L/Cpl Blake Baxley named SCDNR Officer of the Year

SCDNR

Baxley has been a game warden since 2015

On Sept 21, 2021 the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources held their Officer of the Year banquet and luncheon. This banquet is where the agency honors all of their Regional officers of the year with their families and announce the State wide officer of the year.

Please join us in congratulating the SCDNR 2021 State Officer of the Year Lance Corporal Blake Baxley.

L/Cpl Baxley has been a game warden since 2015 and  is a K-9 Handler, Hunting Incident Investigator, Specific Skills Instructor, Data-Master Operator, SFST Instructor, and Region 3 Representative for the SC Wildlife Officer’s Association.

He’s also involved in youth programs

L/Cpl Baxley consistently exceeds expectations in all aspects of his job.  His work ethic sets the bar. L/Cpl Baxley is a member of the DNR K-9 Team with his K-9 Arya. Together, they have been on over 30 deployments this past year which resulted in cases for night hunting, renegade hunter act violation, dove violations, waterfowl violations, trespass to hunt turkey, and turkey bait.

L/Cpl Baxley and K-9 Arya have also assisted counties and state agencies with multiple missing persons (including two missing juveniles who were later located). Despite working more than 448 hours in K-9 activity for 2020, L/Cpl Baxley continues to be a leader in his unit. During 2020, L/Cpl Baxley reported: 344 violations, assisted with 56 other cases, conducted 184 hours of boat patrols, provided 8 public presentations, and spent 129 hours assisting other agencies. 

In addition to these work accomplishments, L/Cpl Baxley assists every year with the Pintail Partners hunt in his area on the Federal Youth Waterfowl Day. This hunt involves more than 80 youth each year and gives them a first-class waterfowl hunting experience.L/Cpl Baxley’s persistence, positivity, and professionalism influences everyone around him. We are thankful for him and his dedication to protecting our natural resources.

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