By Alabama Public Radio
Montgomery, AL – The Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources sent 85 volunteers from the department to hurricane recovery duty in coastal Mississippi and another 30 to hard-hit parts of Alabama. Conservation Commissioner Barnett Lawley says the volunteers are law enforcement officers trained in search and rescue and first aid. The department also has 30 officers in the recovery effort on Dauphin Island and in Bayou La Batre. Lawley says Mississippi officials requested the extra help in Gulfport and Biloxi. Wednesday, the officers and U-S Marines took food and water to about 40 people who were stranded on shrimp boats in the Industrial Canal near Biloxi. Officers also are assisting the Red Cross to locate family members of service men and women in Iraq. Many have not heard from relatives in the affected area and are seeking information about their condition.