AFWA Releases its 2010 Annual Report, Names Winner of the “Land the Cover” Photo Contest

The Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies has released its 2010 Annual Report featuring the winning “Land the Cover” contest image, Bob’s Ram, submitted by Bob Grier of NEBRASKAland Magazine.

The 2010 Annual Report represents the views and voices of fish and wildlife agencies as they stand on the frontlines of conservation as stewards for North America’s fish and wildlife and the public’s trust. The report also highlights the outstanding participation of state, provincial, territorial and federal agencies as well as the greater conservation community and sportsmen industries in collaborating to realize the year’s accomplishments.

In 2010, the Association focused on these issues and outcomes:
• Protecting conservation authority through Congressional legislation and international representation;

• Securing conservation funding through the Farm Bill and State and Tribal Wildlife Grants;

• Coordinating science-based conservation on species-based programs and cross-cutting concerns;

• Connecting youth to conservation and enhancing relationships between agencies and the archery, hunting, shooting sports, boating and sportfishing industries through the Industry/Agency Coalition and the new Council to Advance Hunting and the Shooting Sports;

• Fostering conservation leadership; and

• Recognizing the recipients of AFWA’s 2010 Annual Awards.

In addition, the report features stunning photography contributed by individuals from state fish and wildlife agencies and regional associations. Jesse Lee Varnado from the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks was the “Land the Cover” Contest Runner-up and George Andrejko of Arizona Game and Fish Department was the President’s Choice Award winner for Best Gray Squirrel photo. An Honorable Mention goes to Larry Kruckenberg of the Western Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies.

Click here to download a PDF copy of AFWA's 2010 Annual Report

To order print copies of the report, contact Laura MacLean at lmaclean@fishwildlife.org.

AFWA Honors Recipients of the 2010 Annual Awards

The Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies honored nine individuals and two entities for their outstanding and longstanding commitment to conservation stewardship at the Association’s Annual Awards Ceremony held on September 28, 2010 in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

John Frampton, Director of the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources and AFWA’s 2009-2010 President received the top honor, the Seth Gordon Award. Wyoming Game and Fish Department and its Deputy Director, John Emmerich, took home the Ernest Thompson Seton Award for leadership in scientific wildlife management.

Cristy Gayle Burch, GIS Specialist with Texas Parks and Wildlife Department was recognized as an outstanding young wildlife management professional with the Mark Reeff Memorial Award and the Bamberger Ranch in Texas received the National Private Lands Fish and Wildlife Stewardship Award.

Lt. Richard Thomas and Investigator Dan Sullivan of the New York Department of Conservation Law Enforcement Division received the Conservation Law Enforcement Award for “Operation Shellshock,” a multi-year undercover operation to stop the illegal reptiles and amphibians.

In addition, special recognition awards were presented to Christopher Estes, Chief of Alaska Fish and Game’s Aquatic Resources Coordination Unit; Dr. Robert Blohm, Chief of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Division of Migratory Bird Management; Dr. Sally Guynn AFWA’s Management Assistance Team Project Leader; and Jay McAninch, President and CEO of the Archery Trade Association.

Congratulations to all of the honorees!

> Read a full description of the achievements of the 2010 Annual Awards recipients

West Virginia’s Curtis I. Taylor Elected AFWA's 2010-2011 President

The Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies elected West Virginia Division of Natural Resources Wildlife Resources Section Chief, Curtis I. Taylor, its new president on Spetember 29, 2010 during the Association’s 100th Annual Meeting in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He is tasked to lead AFWA’s national agenda for sound, science-based fish and wildlife management through September 2011.

Taylor has more than 31 years of experience with DNR, where prior to becoming Chief in 2001, he was the Federal Aid Coordinator and worked on various turkey research projects and other fish and wildlife management programs including serving as co-project leader on the Wild Turkey Population Dynamics Study. He directed the first radio telemetry study of ocellated turkeys in Guatemala for Wildlife Conservation International and Hornocker Wildlife Institute and has served on the National Wild Turkey Federation Technical Committee since 1985, receiving the organization’s highly coveted Henry S. Mosby Award in 2005. Taylor also serves on the Steering Committee for the West Virginia University Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit.

“There is nothing like a 100th Annual Meeting to think about what we’ve done and where we will be going,” said Taylor, the first AFWA President to hail from West Virginia. “We still believe in a cooperative, scientifically sound and legally firm approach to protect and enhance the North American Model of fish and wildlife management that is unique to the United States and the envy of other countries that have tried to duplicate it. Our partnership with industry through the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration and Dingell-Johnson Sport Fish Restoration Acts is the cornerstone for funding conservation."

During his tenure as president, Taylor plans to focus the work of the Association membership on fostering better relationships with the angling, hunting and shooting sports industries; recruitment and retention of license-buying hunters and anglers; and the impacts of energy development on fish and wildlife resources.

“Energy does not come without a price,” said Taylor. “We need to make sure that wildlife is not stuck with the bill.”

In addition to his responsibilities as President, Taylor also serves as the Co-Chair of AFWA’s International Relations Committee. In this role, he represented the United States at the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species in Qatar in early 2010 to advance state and federal statutory partnerships and work cooperatively on international fish and wildlife policy.

“I appreciate the trust [the Association members] have put in me,” concluded Taylor.

Taylor has served as Treasurer and President of the Northeast Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies and is currently on its Executive Committee. He is also on the Executive Committee of the Southeast Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies.

Photo (l-r): The passing of the President's gavel from John Frampton (SC) to Curtis Taylor (WV)