Cougar-hunting Kamloops CO among 11 honoured with Peace Officer Service Medal

VICTORIA – Eleven members of the Conservation Officer Service including one from Kamloops are being recognized for going above and beyond to protect B.C.’s residents and natural resources.

 

Environment Minister Mary Polak joined Lt.-Gov. Judith Guichon on Friday as she presented the Peace Officer Exemplary Service Medal to several conservation officers during their annual recertification training.

Among them was Kevin Van Damme of Kamloops.

As peace officers, conservation officers with 20 years of outstanding service may receive an exemplary service medal.

An expert in predator attack investigations, Van Damme was named Outstanding Conservation Officer of the Year in 2009. This is also his second exemplary service medal.

Van Damme was in the news in December when his specially trained partner — a dog named Bust — was killed by a cougar in Tranquille Valley. The cougar had been spotted by property owners, and Van Damme answered the call with Bust and another dog named Boomer. The two mixed-breed specially trained scent hounds were the first official CO canine unit in B.C., led by Van Damme.

As they tracked the cougar, Bust and Boomer were attacked. Van Damme shot the cougar but Bust’s injuries were fatal.

“When I look back in hindsight, I place some of the blame on myself for unhooking my dog,” Van Damme told The Kamloops Daily News at the time.

Van Damme was featured in a January story in The Globe and Mail. “Bust was such a happy dog,” he told the paper. “The dogs, their passion, their daily drive is to go in the field and hunt. I am their conduit to do that, so when Bust saw me, he was just so excited.

“His tail would be going so crazy. He was always so eager, and so willing to jump in and go to work.”

The story was also covered in Macleans magazine and several other media across the country.

A former fisheries officer in Quesnel, Van Damme has spent 22 years as a conservation officer in Surrey, Clearwater and currently Kamloops. Van Damme has been married to Coleen for 22 years — they have three teenaged sons: Brock, Cole and Reid.

An avid sports enthusiast, Van Damme enjoys hunting and fishing. He has coached several teams in the B.C. Summer Games, as well as provincial and western Canadian championships.

Conservation officer Simon Gravel was also recognized Friday with the North American Wildlife Enforcement Officers Association 2013 Lifesaving Award for rescuing a woman who fell off her paddleboard in Howe Sound.

Without a personal flotation device, the woman could barely keep her head above water when Gravel found her. The conservation officer pulled her from the water and immediately began treatment for hypothermia, saving her life.

B.C.’s Conservation Officer Service is the province’s primary responder to human-wildlife conflicts where there is a risk to public safety, conservation concerns or where significant property damage has occurred.

In addition to regular uniformed members, the Conservation Officer Service’s Provincial Investigations Branch conducts large-scale industrial or commercial crime investigations.

The 10 conservation officers honoured Friday are:

• Chris Doyle, inspector
• Adam Christie, retired sergeant
• Len Butler, sergeant
• Steve Jacobi, sergeant
• Greg Kondas, sergeant
• Tobe Sprado, sergeant
• Gord Gudbranson, conservation officer
• Peter Pauwels, conservation officer
• Don Stahl, conservation officer
• Kevin Van Damme, conservation officer