Lieutenant Heidi Murphy of Andover was honored by the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department as the 2015 Shikar-Safari International Wildlife Officer of the Year. She is an 11-year veteran of Fish and Game. Heidi patrolled in the Franklin area for eight years, addressing Off-Highway Recreational Vehicle issues and wildlife complaints, stocking pheasants and fish, and investigating hunting and fishing cases. She is an active member of the Advanced Search and Rescue Team and instructs several courses for Fish and Game’s Becoming an Outdoors-Woman program.

“Lt. Murphy was New Hampshire Fish and Game’s first female Conservation Officer, and she has set the bar very high for those who strive to follow,” said Chief Kevin Jordan. “She came into an agency and a culture here in the Law Enforcement Division that was all male, and she demonstrated she could hold her own with the best of them.”

Murphy currently serves as Fish and Game Law Enforcement’s Administrative Lieutenant, where she is charged with reviewing, approving, and issuing all wildlife permits and is the “go-to” person for questions of law or administrative rules. She also supervises the Department’s Dispatch office.

“Lieutenant Murphy has demonstrated the attributes of a professional wildlife officer whose exemplary work performance is a true asset to the Fish and Game Department,” said Jordan. “She is an officer who exhibits good common sense, dedication to duty, and loyalty to a fault.”

The Shikar-Safari Club International was founded in 1952 as a group of international hunters who joined together to exchange experiences and ideas about hunting. It started as a social hunting organization, but soon recognized its potential to accomplish meaningful goals in the field of conservation. About 1973, the Shikar-Safari International Foundation was formed. Moneys raised by the members of the Shikar-Safari International are used to carry out various conservation projects throughout the world.