CONTACT:
Tanya Haskell: (603) 271-3511
A.J. DeRosa: (978) 314-5193
October 27, 2025

Concord, NH – The New Hampshire Fish and Game Commission has honored several individuals with the 2024 Commission Awards of Excellence for outstanding efforts in the conservation field in support of the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department’s mission.

The 2024 Commission Awards of Excellence recipients are as follows:

Communication Award of Excellence
Eric Orff, Epsom, NH

This distinction honors an outdoor communicator, writer, or media source that has authored or published articles or materials beneficial to public understanding about fish, wildlife, or marine resources as they relate to the Department’s mission. Orff, a former biologist with the NH Fish and Game Department, through his podcast and book entitled What’s Wild, continues to share his biological understanding of wildlife and habitat with listeners in the Granite State and beyond.

Volunteer Award of Excellence
Dennis Walsh, Manchester, NH

This award honors an individual who, as a volunteer with the Department, has excelled in efforts to support and achieve Fish and Game’s mission. For over 20 years, Dennis Walsh has led Hunter Education classes at both Pointer Fish and Game Club and Horseshoe Pond Fish and Game Club, in addition to assisting at Fish and Game’s Owl Brook Hunter Education Center and serving as a 4-H shooting instructor. Walsh has also conducted untold hours of public outreach as a Wildlife Steward and Docent, providing adults and kids with a better understanding of the wildlife around them.

Search and Rescue Volunteer Award of Excellence
Pemigewasset Valley Search and Rescue Team, Franconia, NH

This award distinguishes an organization, group, or individual who as a volunteer has excelled in their efforts to assist the Department in critical search and rescue missions around the state. Since 2005, Pemi Search and Rescue has responded to some 500 volunteer missions, while also promoting outdoor preparedness and safe hiking. Eighty members strong, the unpaid volunteers that make up Pemi Search and Rescue come to the aid of hikers alongside Conservation Officers in all weather conditions and at all hours to ensure that the 15–18 people necessary for a safe and efficient carry out are present. Thank you Pemi for your dedication and assistance over the past 20 years.

Ellis R. Hatch Jr. Commission Award of Excellence
Maria Colby, Wings of the Dawn Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation, Henniker, NH

The Commission’s highest honor recognizes an individual or organization that has excelled in efforts to promote, enhance, or benefit fish, wildlife, marine resources, or the Department’s mission. Since 1987, Maria Colby has dedicated her volunteer efforts to the rescue and rehabilitation of New Hampshire’s wildlife. Her skills have become invaluable to our agency statewide as a resource for injured birds or mammals, or wildlife that cannot otherwise survive on its own. Initially establishing her own facilities, Maria Colby has been assisting Fish and Game with wildlife for almost 40 years. Thank you, Maria, for your passion and expertise.

If you are aware of a worthy individual or organization, please consider nominating them for one of eight potential awards to be given by the Fish and Game Commission for the 2025 Commission Awards of Excellence. Nominations can be sent to Tanya.haskell@wildlife.nh.gov or mail them to: NH Fish & Game Department, 11 Hazen Drive, Concord, NH 03301, Attn: Tanya Haskell. All nominations must be postmarked & submitted by December 31, 2025. For a description of the award categories and a nomination form, to see past winners, or learn more about the Commission, visit www.wildlife.nh.gov/about-new-hampshire-fish-and-game/nhfg-commission.

The New Hampshire Fish and Game Department is the guardian of the state’s fish, wildlife, and marine resources and their habitats. Visit www.wildnh.com to learn more.