Lt. Michael Eastman is New New Hampshire Fish & Game Coastal Law Enforcement Chief
OutdoorHub 02.03.13
Lt. Michael Eastman of Gilford was recently tapped as the new District Chief for the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department’s Law Enforcement seacoast area district (District 6). Former chief Lt. Jeffrey Marston retired in 2012.
A Conservation Officer with Fish and Game for the past 12 years, Eastman was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant and assumed his new duties on January 11, 2013. In his new role, he supervises a working unit of Conservation Officers assigned to Fish and Game’s District Six Coastal Patrol areas, which include several southeastern New Hampshire towns and the entire New Hampshire coastline. In addition to the enforcement of Fish and Game laws and regulations, Eastman administers vital cooperative federal-state coastal enforcement programs related to the Joint Enforcement Agreement and Atlantic States Marine Fishery Commission initiatives.
“We consider ourselves fortunate that Lieutenant Eastman has decided to take on this exciting challenge,” said Fish and Game Law Enforcement Chief Martin Garabedian. “He will actively work to maintain public and professional relationships throughout New Hampshire’s seacoast that are crucial in our success as a wildlife agency.”
Eastman graduated from Unity College in 1998 with a BS in Environmental Studies with an emphasis in Conservation Law Enforcement. He began his law enforcement career with the Laconia Police Department, where he worked for two years before joining Fish and Game. His primary Fish and Game patrol area was in the Lakes Region.
After successfully completed the intensive four-week Marine Law Enforcement Training Program conducted at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Glynco, Georgia, Eastman also logged many hours helping coastal officers enforce marine regulations.
Eastman has been a Field Training Officer, a background investigator, a member of the Advanced Search and Rescue Team, the Coastal Joint Enforcement Team, and the Fish and Game Dive Team. He earned the Lifesaving Congressional Award in 2007, the Looking Beyond the Traffic Stop Award presented by the New Hampshire Police Standards and Training Council in 2008, and he was honored as the 2008 Shikar-Safari International “Wildlife Officer of the Year.”
“Eastman has demonstrated great success in the areas of major case investigations, OHRV/ATV accident investigations and search and rescue capabilities,” said Garabedian, acknowledging Eastman’s “six sense” for apprehending wildlife violators and other criminal activity.
Lt. Eastman presently resides in Gilford with his wife Serene and children Madison, Sydney and Morgan.
