Commissioner John Keys III has announced that the Bureau of Reclamation has hired a Chief of Law Enforcement and four Special Agents to serve as Regional Law Enforcement Officials.

"These Special Agents, who bring extensive law enforcement experience and expertise to our agency, are the first law enforcement professionals hired by Reclamation to implement our new law enforcement authority and program," said Keys. "Their proficiency and background will help to keep our dams and facilities safe and secure so Reclamation can continue to provide water and power to the West."

The people named are:

Michael A. Wood, Chief of Law Enforcement, Denver, Colo. Hugh Dougher, Special Agent - Pacific Northwest Region, Boise, Idaho Tom Lobkowicz, Special Agent - Lower Colorado Region, Boulder City, Nev. Rudy Mauldin, Special Agent - Upper Colorado Region, Salt Lake City, Utah Bill Duncan, Special Agent - Great Plains Region, Billings, Mont.

The Mid-Pacific Region Special Agent position is not filled at this time and is currently being advertised.

The Chief and Special Agents will be working to establish Reclamation's law enforcement program and enhance security at Reclamation facilities. The Regional Special Agents will be responsible for conducting investigations of violations of law that occur on Reclamation property. In addition, they will be working with other Federal, State, local and Tribal judicial and law enforcement agencies to identify law enforcement trends and issues that may affect Reclamation.

Reclamation is the largest wholesale water supplier and the second largest producer of hydroelectric power in the United States, with operations and facilities in the 17 Western States. Its facilities also provide substantial flood control, recreation, and fish and wildlife benefits.

Editors Note: Following is a biographical information for each of the new employees:

Michael A. Wood, Chief of Law Enforcement: Wood comes to Reclamation with 31 years of law enforcement experience with the United States Park Police, where he attained the rank of captain. He has served in a variety of assignments in Washington, D.C., and Denver, Colo., during his career. He was a member of the security detail for the Secretary of the Interior and the regional law enforcement specialist for the National Park Service Intermountain Region.

Hugh Dougher, Special Agent - Pacific Northwest Region: Dougher has 26 years of law enforcement experience with the National Park Service and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. His most recent position was as a special agent serving national parks in South Dakota, North Dakota, and Nebraska. In addition, he served as a ranger and supervisory ranger at Delaware Water Gap NRA, Voyageurs NP, Petrified Forest NP, Yosemite NP, and Cascades NP. Finally, he served as an incident commander on both the NPS Pacific West and NPS Midwest/Intermountain Incident Management Teams.

Tom Lobkowicz, Special Agent - Lower Colorado Region: Lobkowicz has 17 years of law enforcement experience with the National Park Service. He began his career as a park ranger and became a special agent in 1994. During his career, he has focused on resource protection, drug enforcement and anti-terrorism. Since September 11, 2001, he has had several assignments working with FBI Joint Terrorist Task Force operations, Department of the Interior details for national infrastructure and icon protection, the NYPD Counter-Terrorism Division, and the establishment of the National Park Service Northeast Region Counter-Terrorism Training Academy.

Rudy Mauldin, Special Agent - Upper Colorado Region: Mauldin brings 28 years of law enforcement experience with a variety of agencies, including 14 years as a special agent with the Bureau of Land Management in Salt Lake City, Utah. His accomplishments in wildland fire and archaeological investigations have established case precedence at state and national levels. He provides course development and training assistance in these areas to the U.S. Attorney's Office for local, state and federal agencies. Prior to that, he was a special agent with the Alcohol Beverage Control Department and the Special Investigation Division of the Department of Public Safety in New Mexico, where he worked a variety of cases, including racketeering, commercial gambling, bootlegging, narcotics, and other vice-associated crimes.

Bill Duncan, Special Agent - Great Plains Region: Duncan comes to Reclamation with 30 years of law enforcement experience. He began his career with a city police department and county sheriff's office in eastern Montana. He then worked as a deputy and county sheriff in central Montana. He also worked as a criminal investigator in the Big Horn County, Mont., Attorney's Office. He then spent six years in the Montana Attorney General's Office, Criminal Investigation Bureau in Helena, Mont. Following that, he spent almost 16 years as a Bureau of Land Management special agent and state law enforcement officer in Billings, Mont. During his career, he worked general investigations, fraud, homicides, drug enforcement and terrorism cases. He has been a member of the Department of the Interior's security detail in Washington, D.C., after September 11, the security detail at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics, and the Fourth of July celebrations in St. Louis, Mo.