President's Message
There has never been a better time for fish and wildlife management. If we measure opportunity in terms of the number and magnitude of challenges we face in relationship to the public importance being placed on fish, wildlife and other natural resources, this is truly the best of times to be a part of this dynamic work.
One of the most interesting and meaningful books I’ve read in 2008 was, “A Year Outside”, by Tom Kelly, a well-known southern outdoor writer and story teller. Past President, Corky Pugh, introduced me to the book by using excerpts from it to highlight various points at the Association’s outreach meeting with industry held at Hall’s Lake in Alabama in late February 2008. The book lays out a definitive path of fish and wildlife management from 1900 to present that clearly illustrates that the “good old days of hunting and fishing are right this minute.”
While we are the inheritors of a heritage of sound science-based wildlife management that has occurred on the North American continent, our challenges are as fierce as those faced by our predecessors, but much different.
We are challenged with huge changes in the number and kinds of people who participate in the services we provide. Hunter and angler numbers are down and the kinds of hunting and fishing they do are changing. There are fewer waterfowl and upland game bird hunters, yet many states are seeing increases in deer and turkey hunters. There are more people who want to use public lands and waters for a growing number of other recreational purposes. All terrain vehicle and personal watercraft users, birders and equestrian enthusiasts all want to be included.
State fish and wildlife agencies have always prided themselves—as have hunters and anglers—in being funded by our users. It has been a great model that has carried us through the years and shaped who we have become. But, our model is beginning to fail as user numbers decline and our operating costs increase. Simultaneously, our missions have grown as we have begun to more completely fulfill our statutory assignments and the public’s changing will. “All birds,” “all wildlife” and “ecosystem management” are terms that were once strange to us that are now common.
We once were happily able to manage public lands and waters through habitat manipulation, fish stocking and law enforcement... counting our game species to validate our seasons and bag limits and protecting the species from over harvest. Times have changed. First came private land work; then came Threatened and Endangered Species oversight; then came the Farm Bill; then came North American Waterfowl Management Plan (and a host of other similar initiatives that have followed); then came State Wildlife Grants; then came State Wildlife Action Plans; and now we are faced with the implications of climate change.
With all of this... Opportunities abound!
With new opportunities has come a changing delivery system. We have added new functions at the expense of others without necessarily giving up anything. So now we are spread very thin in many areas. The new money hasn’t been nearly enough to do the job. We have turned to our federal and non governmental partners to continue to try to accomplish our missions. We are a driven people in fish and wildlife management. Given a challenge, we find a way to get the work done.
The Association is staffed with bright, energetic and industrious people. Our Executive Director, Matt Hogan, has mastered our mission, provided unparalleled support for our Presidents and has helped us sharpen our focus on the heart and soul of our Association... our Committees. Our state agencies and our partners are equally staffed with wonderfully capable, determined and committed personnel.
Our new year will bring a new energy into our commitment to education, a further strengthening of our ties with industry, new innovations and techniques to collectively work on recruitment and retention of outdoor enthusiasts and driving our public to an Association website that connects participants with the where’s, what’s, how’s and why’s of everything outdoors.
It is an overwhelming privilege and honor to serve as your president. I look forward to representing every fish and wildlife agency in the country and many in Canada and Mexico assuring that the mission of the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies is fulfilled every day. I pledge to do my part in helping the Association and our partners work closely together over the issues and unlimited opportunities of our time.
Good Hunting, Good Fishing and Good Health Always!
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