ASSOCIATION OF FISH AND WILDLIFE AGENCIES

2011 ANNUAL REPORT

Proudly celebrating the 75th Anniversary of the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program, Americas most successful partnership for conservation

I feel that the high tension at which the average man has been living is wrecking entirely too many nervous systems. Hunting and fishing is the best nerve tonic I know, and I believe that a greater opportunity for the average citizen to engage in this type of outdoor recreation would greatly promote both the health and happiness of our people. ~ A. Willis Robertson, 1936

CONTENTS
Presidents Message 3 || Executive Directors Message 4 || Advocacy 6 || Authority 9 || Science 10 || Stewardship 14 || Leadership 16 || Annual Meeting & Annual Awards 17 || Committees, Subcommittees & Working Groups 18 || Officers & Executive Committee 18 || Members 19 || Financials & Staff 21

PRESIDENTS MESSAGE

he Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act of 1937 is Americas greatest conservation secret. This partnership between industry, state fish and wildlife agencies and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) has resulted in unprecedented conservation success stories that affect, not only wildlife, but also the generations of hunters to come. Programs funded by the Wildlife Restoration Act have returned many of our favorite species from all-time lows and some from the brink of extinction. When the Act was passed, there were fewer than 500,000 white-tailed deer in this country. They number nearly 20 million today. In the 1930s, there were about 30,000 wild turkeys. There are now nearly seven million wild turkeys nationwide. Pronghorn antelope, elk, wood duck, black bears and many others have similar success stories. Each quarter, when the hunting, shooting sports and archery manufacturers make their excise tax payments under the Act, they help state fish and wildlife agencies improve habitat, restore and manage species, open seasons, bring kids into the outdoors, build shooting ranges and secure access for every hunter and shooter across the country. This critical commitment by Americas hunting and shooting sports industry over the past 75 years ensures that there is money on the ground in states for wildlife conservation and access that gets hunters, shooters and archers out enjoying the activities they love best. But wildlife restoration is only half of the story of our partnership with the hunting and shooting sports industry. With these funds, state agencies have been able to provide hunter education to more than 24 million people; build hundreds of public shooting ranges; develop Walk-In Hunting Access programs; educate youth in schools about how conservation is funded; and deliver outdoor skills training. These funds have also helped to acquire and maintain nearly 400 million acres of habitat across the country. The Wildlife Restoration Program, and the excise tax it generates, is the lifeblood of every state fish and wildlife agency. Since 1937, more than $14 billion dollars have been entrusted to state agencies for managing and restoring wildlife and their habitats. These funds are protected by law for conservation and cannot be diverted to other programs. As we celebrate the 75th Anniversary of the Wildlife Restoration Act, lets celebrate those who had the wisdom and foresight to create the program that helps keep us all in businessboth industry and the state fish and wildlife agenciesfor our customers are their customers too. And lets celebrate and recommit to the partnership between the hunting and shooting sports industry, state fish and wildlife agencies and the Service that will ensure our great shared legacy passes on to tomorrows sportsmen and women.

Jon Gassett, PhD President of the Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies, 2011-2012 Commissioner of the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources

 

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ExEcuTIvE DIREcToRS MESSAGE

hen I was much youngeras a young deer biologist, actuallyI cut my teeth on preparing federal aid reports for white-tailed research and management projects in Vermont. I dont remember learning much about Wildlife Restoration/Pittman-Robertson funding in a real sense when I studied at the University of Vermont, but the importance of those funds to basic wildlife management would become indelibly imprinted on me during a 26-year career with the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department. When I first began to manage those funds for the deer program, the Wildlife Restoration program was 46 years old. Now we have reached the programs 75th anniversary, and I sit in a different place professionally. But I have not forgotten the importance of such funding to state fish and wildlife agencies and their applied research and management priorities. Nor, can we overlook the critical value of the Sport Fish Restoration Act (Dingell-Johnson) and the Boating Trust Fund amendment (Wallop-Breaux) in protecting fish and their habitat. The Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies works to ensure the continued viability of the PittmanRobertson, Dingell-Johnson and Wallop-Breaux programs at every turn in Washington, DC. We celebrate 75 years of fish and wildlife conservation success with our federal and industry partners. After months of planning in 2011, we recently kicked-off the 75th anniversary at the January 2012 SHOT Show, the nations premier firearms and ammunition trade show, sending a loud and clear message about the unity of the partnership. AFWA President Jon Gassett and Nevada Wildlife Director Ken Mayer were on hand to tell their stories about the importance of those funds to their stateside work. The National Shooting Sports Foundations CEO, Steve Sanetti, made it clear that industry understands the importance of these funds to both conservation and hunter and shooting sports programs, and Hannibal Bolton, with the USFWS, reiterated the federal commitment to the oversight and delivery of those funds consistent with the purposes of the authorizing legislation. But this is about more than looking back or simply celebrating success. It is every bit as much about looking forward, thinking about stronger partnerships and new horizons. We hope you will take every opportunity to tell the wildlife and sport fish restoration story in the coming year and that it will become the building block for even greater conservation success in the future.

Ron Regan Executive Director of the Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies

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ThE voIcE of fISh & WIlDlIfE AGENcIES

TENAcITY

he times were as bleak as a nation had ever known. Unemployment and economic stagnation were worsening in post-World War I America and the abundance of wildlife riches that once graced the landscape were dwindling or disappearing altogether. Fledgling fish and game agencies were the stewards of their states natural resources, funded solely through hunting and fishing license revenues. Ever on guard against threats by cashstrapped state administrations to divert their meager funding, the agencies knew the need for action in wildlife restoration was urgent. With Theodore Roosevelt, the Conservation President, in the White House, the members of the International Association of Game, Fish and Conservation Commissioners (IAGFCC, as the Association was known) saw their opportunity. According to Carl Shoemaker, Secretary of the Senate Special Committee on the Conservation of Wildlife Resources and former Oregon wildlife chief, interests in wildlife and the outof-doors had grown by leaps and bounds. At the IAGFCCs 1936 convention, Shoemaker presented a legislative proposal to the assembly that leveraged an already existing excise tax. At the time, Congress was abolishing various excise taxes; but conservationists unitedcontinue the 10% excise tax on sporting arms and ammunition and apply the proceeds to wildlife restoration programs through the states. Ammunition companies supported the proposal and so did the IAGFCC, which had a strong hand in its development. On June 17, 1937, Senator Key Pittman of Nevada introduced the Federal Aid to Wildlife Restoration bill. Representative A. Willis Robertson of Virginia, former head of the Virginia Commission of Game and Inland Fisheries, dropped a companion bill in the House hopper. It was Robertson who added 29 of the most important words for state directors, ... and which shall include a prohibition against the diversion of license fees paid by hunters for any other purpose than the administration of said state fish and game department.

Living wild species are like a library of books still unread. Our heedless destruction of them is akin to burning the library without ever having read its books.

~ John Dingell Congressman

With little debate, both bills passed quickly and unanimously. Roosevelt signed the Pittman-Robertson (P-R) Act into law on September 2, 1937. Immediately thereafter, the IAGFCC declared itself in favor of legislation that would provide federal funding to states for fishing resources. They proposed the money would come from an excise tax on fishing equipment and lures. This P-R companion bill would be introduced in 1939 and again in 1941, only to fail. It wasnt until after World War II that Congressman John Dingell from Michigan and Colorados Senator Edwin Johnson would revive the bill. It passed in 1949, but was vetoed by President Harry S. Truman, who disapproved of earmarking funds. Dingell and Johnson tried again in 1950, and President Truman signed the Sport Fish Restoration Act into law on August 9, 1950. In the late 1970s, D-J Expansion became the rally cry for the International Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies. D-J revenues had proved inadequate to the tasks of providing sufficient fish habitat and fishing opportunities. Conservation and sport fishing organizations, and eventually the boating industry, supported the bill. The Wallop-Breaux Boating Trust Fund amendment would pass in 1984, broadening excise taxes on fishing tackle and capturing a portion of the federal gasoline excise taxes attributable to motorboatsroughly tripling the amount of funding for sport fish restoration. Like P-R and D-J, users would still financially sustain their own recreation as well as that of others, or simply users pay, everyone benefits. As we commemorate the 75th anniversary of P-R and the legislation that followed to sustain the work of state fish and wildlife agencies, we remember the tipping point supporters of wildlife were organized and united, their cause, compelling. Despite decades of disappointment and defeat, it was partnership, perseverance and resolve amongst AFWAs membership, industry and the greater conservation community that got us to where we are today. We are the voice of fish and wildlife agencies that speaks collectively to advance science-based management and conservation policy; increase funding; uphold states authority; and raise conservations next generation of stewards, sportsmen and women and leaders. These are the tenacious roots upon which we still grow.

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ADvocAcY
Congressional Relations
In 2011, Congress focused principally on two actions cutting federal discretionary spending and reducing the deficit. AFWAs membership and the conservation community at large urged Senate and House negotiators not to balance the budget on the back of conservation by disproportionately cutting natural resources funding more severely than other federal programs. By most accounts, the Association succeeded fairly well as a result of significant effort by state agency directors and the community, which ultimately grew to a 1,000-member+ coalition of conservation, hunting, angling, recreation and historic preservation organizations allied around support for natural resource-agriculture-environment federal spending. In the spring, Congress finally concluded FY11 spending with a year-long Continuing Resolution that restored some of the severe cuts to conservation programs reflected in the House-passed bills. Several months later, Congress established the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction to recommend program savings of $1.2 trillion over 10 years in both discretionary and non-discretionary spending (Farm Bill included) in order to avert the kick-in of statutorily imposed sequestration rescissions. However, by the November deadline, the Super Committee acknowledged its inability to arrive at consensus recommendations. Consequently, the bi-partisan Farm Bill recommendations, developed by Senate and House Agriculture Committees leadership, lost the opportunity to be brought to floor votes under privileged status, and thus pushed Farm Bill reauthorization back to regular order. Since the statutory sequestration triggers dont take effect until January 2013, Congress has some time to develop an alternative (to sequestration) legislative strategy, deliberate it and pass a 10-year package of spending cuts, revenue raisers and deficit reduction. The challenge with any longer-term, budget-reduction package will be in getting the votes, especially in the Senate where this will most decidedly be a 60-vote bill. The deficit reduction law already set the FY12 allocation, which the Senate and House used to close out the FY12 spending bills in two separate packages. Congress enacted and President Obama signed a minibus in November

From the desk of AFWA

he nations struggling economy will compel austere federal spending, and thus AFWAs attention, for some years hence. Outreach to Members of Congress by state agencies and their constituents at home and on Capitol Hill is invaluable toward protecting adequate levels of funding that help create jobs; enhance rural economies; provide affordable and environmentally sustainable food and fiber; deliver ecosystem services like clean water; and open Americas public lands for hunting, fishing, boating and other outdoor recreation.

In spite of wars, rumors of wars, sun spots, elections and politics, the trend in fish and game legislation was upward.

~ Talbott Denmead, 1940 IAGFCC General Counsel

that contained Agriculture, Commerce and Transportation spending. Farm Bill conservation programs endured significant cuts, including a provision that prohibits USDA from spending funds for salaries or other personnel use to administer the Voluntary Public Access and Habitat Incentive Program (VPA-HIP) program. Congress further passed an Omnibus bill for the remaining nine Appropriations bills, which was signed into law by the President in late December. Spending levels for several passthrough grant programs (State Wildlife Grants, North American Wetlands Conservation Act, Endangered Species Act Section 6, Land and Water Conservation Fund, Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act) survived well and concluded close to the FY11-enacted levels. As evidenced in 2011, all programs remain under budgetreduction scrutiny. Congress continues to wrestle with how to pay for reauthorization of the massive Transportation bill without raising the federal gas tax. The Association along with other partners is working to ensure that full funding from the gas excise tax attributable to outboard motors and small engines continues to be transferred to the WallopBreaux (W-B) program during the reauthorization. So far, the community has thwarted several attempts to drastically reduce funding to the Boating Safety Account of W-B; and, Congressional extensions (as opposed to comprehensive reauthorization) of Transportation spending authority are expected through 2012.

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Farm Bill
Landscape conservation initiatives
Never before in its 75-year history has the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) invested more on landscape-level, special initiatives targeting fish and wildlife issues. In FY11, NRCS allocated $330 million (about 30% of its budget) to programs delivered through the Landscape Conservation Initiatives that improve habitat conditions for populations managed by state agencies. In putting money on the ground, NRCS also demonstrated to the agriculture industry that conservation actions and production agriculture can work together to deliver great success. To date, NRCS has implemented 15 landscape conservation initiatives, which deliver customized conservation practices to important agricultural lands within geographic focus areas. Through these initiatives, NRCS seeks to accomplish landscape-scale conservation using a science-based and results-oriented approach that builds on existing locally led efforts and partnerships; provides dedicated funding; and in some instances, provides regulatory certainty for agriculture through voluntary conservation practices.

Georgia, Hawaii, Montana, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, Washington and Wyoming along with the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation. Over two years, VPA-HIP has distributed grants to 29 states and one tribe totaling about $16.6 million.

2012 Farm BiLL reauthorization

The numerous working groups of AFWAs Agricultural Conservation Committee spent the year preparing for reauthorization of the 2012 Farm Bill while negotiating the political climate on the Hill pushing for cuts. Many in the conservation community believe, the longer Congress waits to reauthorize the bill, the worse the budget situation will be for the Conservation Title and other provisions of the law. Throughout 2011, the Association continued to host conference calls and state workshops to evaluate conservation program implementation and update associated white papers. In June, AFWA membership adopted its 2012 Farm Bill Policy Priorities, which will guide actions and positions going forward during the reauthorization process.

acres & Grants

The Farm Services Agency (FSA) had a banner year for enrollment in State Acres for Wildlife Enhancement (SAFE) practices in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). On top of enrolling 2.6 million acres through the General Sign-up for a year-end total of 29.7 million acres, states are approaching the full SAFE allocation by enrolling over 613,000 acres through 90 SAFE projects across 37 states. Additionally, 2011 was the second opportunity for states to apply for a grant through the VPA-HIP to launch or expand their state public access programs. FSA awarded 12 new grants totaling approximately $4.6 million to California,

Teaming With Wildlife

state WiLdLiFe Grants proGram
The State and Tribal Wildlife Grants Programthe nations most cost-effective program for preventing all wildlife from declining to the point of being endangeredfaced the battle for its own survival when Congress focused on deficit reduction in 2011. The House attempted to eliminate FY11 program funding and reduce FY12 funding by 64%. State agencies, AFWA staff and partners worked with Congress to ultimately reduce the size of cuts to the program. Efforts to maintain the 65:35 match rate and reduce the percentage of funds going to state apportionments also succeeded. CommuniCating the SuCCeSS of State Wildlife grantS To demonstrate the benefits of the State Wildlife Grants program to lawmakers, the Association produced a 36-page Success Stories Report. The report includes examples from every state highlighting how the program is preventing endangered species listings. The Association distributed copies to Congressional offices and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). It is available for download at www.teaming.com.

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A working group under AFWAs Teaming With Wildlife Committee completed an Effectiveness Measures Framework for State Wildlife Grants. The framework, outlined in a 180page report released in April 2011, will help demonstrate outcomes for conservation actions and improve adaptive management. The effectiveness measures will be embedded into the new Wildlife TRACS reporting and tracking tool that currently is under development by the USFWS and state agencies. Appropriations committee staff and OMB were briefed on the framework.

teaminG With WiLdLiFe

The Teaming With Wildlife coalition reached 6,348 organizations in 2011 and grew the number of users on its Wildlife Facebook page to nearly 1,000 with an average of 335 visits per week. Teaming Facebook status updates played a key role in keeping the coalition informed and engaged as part of the campaign to stop cuts to the State Wildlife Grants program. Teaming With Wildlife also launched the first phase of its redesigned coalition website at www.teaming.com to better integrate the former Teaming With Wildlife and State Wildlife Action Plan sites into one system.
www.teaming.

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task Force on WiLdLiFe diversity FundinG

AFWAs 2010-2011 President, Curtis Taylor (WV) established a Presidents Task Force on Wildlife Diversity Funding to review and assess past work of the Teaming With Wildlife coalition and give direction for securing dedicated funding in the future. Seven state agency directors and five agency staff comprised the Task Force that developed 10 recommendations and an accompanying report. Recommendations range from facilitating directordriven state communications and education targeting Congressional delegations to maintaining the Teaming

coalition; seeking Congressional action to move State and Tribal Wildlife Grant funding to the Wildlife Conservation and Restoration Program sub-account under P-R; and pursuing federal legislation to provide dedicated wildlife diversity conservation funding. Directors at AFWAs 2011 Annual Meeting approved the final report. It is available at www.teaming.com.

tWW FLy-in
The Association and the national Teaming With Wildlife steering committee held its annual Teaming With Wildlife Fly-in in March 2011. A reception co-hosted with the National Invasive Species Awareness Week attracted more than 300 individuals to the U.S. Botanic Gardens where Senators Patrick Leahy (VT) and Mike Crapo (ID) and Congressmen Jim Moran (VA) and Frank LoBiondo (NJ) were recognized for their support of the State Wildlife Grants Program. The Missouri Dept. of Conservation and Conservation Federation of Missouri received the Wildlife Action Plan Partnership Award and the Texas Teaming With Wildlife Coalition was presented with the Teaming With Wildlife Coalition Member Achievement Award. A total of 93 members (80 democrats, 12 republicans, 1 independent) signed on to Dear Colleague letters supporting funding for State Wildlife Grants for FY12.

We owe it to the resources we manage and the public that pays our bills to not relent until we solve the fiscal predicament that looms if we dont find a more equitable funding model for fish and wildlife conservation.
- Dan Forster, Georgia Wildlife Resources Division Director; Presidents Task Force on Wildlife Diversity Funding Chair

state WiLdLiFe action pLans

More than 70 individuals from state and federal fish and wildlife agencies and private NGOs attended AFWAs national meeting of State Wildlife Action Plan coordinators in January 2011. The meeting provided a much-needed opportunity for coordinators from different regions to come together and consider common goals and challenges to help increase capacity through idea sharing and problem solving. Participants discussed integrating State Wildlife Action Plans into landscape-scale conservation; funding challenges; reporting and tracking effectiveness; operationalizing and evaluating Plans; and conceptualizing the next generation of Plans. The Association was able to provide travel assistance to states using funding from a Doris Duke Charitable Trust grant.

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AuThoRITY
International Relations
convention on internationaL trade in endanGered species oF WiLd FLora and Fauna (cites)
Numerous international forums discuss and make decisions on wildlife management issues that can significantly impact state agency programs. This is especially true of CITES, one of the worlds major conservation endeavors. CITES is a treaty between countries to ensure that international trade in wild animals and plants is not detrimental to their survival. CITES listings regulate and restrict trade into and from the United States. In turn, these restrictions impact hunting; the import and export of harvested wildlife; and other sustainable use practices. In 2011, at the Animals and Standing Committees, AFWAs CITES Technical Work Group advocated states interests on numerous issues and prepared Interventions for each of the U.S. native species listed in Appendix II in the event a species was nominated for a significant trade or periodic review. In the end, only one U.S. species was included in the reviews, much to the credit of the work groups efforts.

Conserving wildlife has become a serious public business, actively supported by high government officials from President Roosevelt down. It has also attracted to the sidelines the greatest body of friends and advisors on record; all of them seeking to influence the running of the business.

~ Seth Gordon, 1937 Executive Director, Pennsylvania Game Commission

To allow fur harvested in the U.S. to continue to be imported into the European Union (EU), a U.S. delegation attended the Third Annual Joint Management Committee for the Agreement on International Humane Trapping Standards in October 2011. The delegation successfully maintained its present Memorandum of Understanding with the EU. Four delegates from the Association attended the meeting to share research on trapping furbearers in the U.S. and to discuss a possible new proposal on trapping standards that would set animal welfare standards and best practices guidelines for the use of traps within EU member countries. Any new standards, if adopted by the Parliament, will be solely applicable to the EU.

Joint manaGement committee meetinG on internationaL humane trappinG standards

The nearly 150,000 state-licensed trappers and 250,000 employees in the pest and nuisance control industries save state agencies potentially millions of dollars in furbearer management costs. But, if trappers cant sell fur abroad, many are not going to trap.

internationaL Forums
The Association holds a seat on the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Networks (WHSRN) Hemispheric Council, which met in New Jersey in May 2011 to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Delaware Bay WHSRN designation. The 25th anniversary event recognized the vision and dedication of the founders and early conservationists involved in WHSRN, widely recognized as the most effective flywayscale shorebird network in the world. The Ramsar Convention celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2011. On behalf of state agencies, the Association has a seat on the U.S. Ramsar Committee, which nominated four new sites to the Ramsars list of wetlands of international importance in the United States. The Association also represents state agencies interests in the Western Hemisphere Migratory Species Initiative; the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN); the Convention on Migratory Species; the Trilateral Committee for Wildlife and Ecosystem Conservation and Management; and the Convention on Biological Diversity.

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ScIENcE
Amphibians & Reptiles
reGuLatory Guidance
Most Asian turtle species in the wild have been consumed to ecological extinction, driving Asian markets to turn to other countries to outsource this growing demand, especially for wild-caught turtles. The U.S. has the highest turtle diversity in the world. In March, AFWAs Amphibian & Reptile Subcommittee and International Relations Committee, with the USFWS International Affairs Program, held a special event on the international trade in turtles. Nearly 50 attendees participated representing 15 states, including seven state directors, USFWS Director Dan Ashe and nine members of the Services directorate. Guest speaker Dr. Anders Rhodin, a medical doctor and turtle conservation expert, asked, Is America Next? and offered suggestions to prevent overseas market demands from harming U.S. turtle populations. In December, AFWAs Amphibian & Reptile Subcommittee members and state partners updated their national report, State of the Union: Legal Authority over the Use of Native Amphibians and Reptiles in the United States. Slated for early 2012 release, it features accounts for each of the 49 continental states and the District of Columbia. Draft recommendations for model regulatory approaches for amphibians and reptiles in the context of the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation were produced and reviewed by AFWA leadership and will be finalized in 2012.

Legal Counsel
AFWAs legal office monitors and analyzes litigation that may affect member agencies and provides recommendations for the Associations participation in litigation of national significance that may impact the states authority to conserve fish and wildlife and their habitats. AFWAs in-house counsel also provides legal support to state representatives on the Joint Task Force on Federal Aid, which provides a process for the USFWS and state agencies to cooperatively identify program issues of national significance and jointly develop recommendations concerning those issues. In addition, legal guidance is available to AFWA state agency members, staff, regional associations, flyway councils and other state agency-related entitiesincluding the Council to Advance Hunting and the Shooting Sportson contract and nonprofit governance matters.

Like the resource it seeks to protect, wildlife conservation must be dynamic. Changing as conditions change, seeking always to become more effective.

partners in amphiBian & reptiLe conservation

In 2011, turtle conservation groups and PARC celebrated the Year of the Turtle. Monthly newsletters, including one issue featuring the work of state agencies, were produced along with other outreach materials and more than 13,500 visitors checked out the www.yearoftheturtle.org website. State agencies in Arizona, Connecticut, Georgia, Massachusetts and New York joined in as partners in the celebration.

~ Rachel Carson Silent Spring

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The National Military Fish & Wildlife Association (NMFWA) presented its 2011 Award for Military Natural Resource Conservation Research to Dr. Robert Lovich, Chris Petersen, Dr. Mike Lannoo, Priya Nanjappa (AFWAs Amphibian & Reptile Coordinator) and Ernesto Garcia for their roles in the Department of Defense (DoD) Legacy-funded, transcontinental study of amphibians and infection by the amphibian chytrid fungus, which has devastated amphibian populations worldwide. The NMFWA award selection committee agreed that this DoD-PARC project enhanced the militarys mission by providing DoD with a better picture of the health of its amphibian populations. PARC presented its first-ever Allison Haskell Excellence in Herpetofaunal Conservation award to Alvin R. Breisch, former New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation herpetologist, and its first-ever Visionary Leader Award to PARC co-founder, Dr. J. Whitfield Gibbons of the University of Georgias Savannah River Ecology Lab.

Bird Conservation
north american Bird conservation initiative
The Association continues to play a key role in the leadership and coordination of the U.S. North American Bird Conservation Initiative (NABCI) Committee. In 2011, NABCI published the third U.S. State of the Birds Report focused on Public Lands and Waters. The role of public lands is underscored by the more than 300 species that have at least half of their U.S distribution on publicly owned lands. NABCI partners are using the reports findings to better target bird conservation efforts on public lands.

north american WaterFoWL manaGement pLan

The North American Waterfowl Management Plan (NAWMP) was established in 1986 to return critically reduced waterfowl populations to average 1970s levels. The Plan was updated in 1998 and 2004 and the latest version will be released in 2012. States, provinces and federal agencies in Mexico, Canada and the U.S., along with conservation organizations from across the continent, have been engaged in the development of the new NAWMP. The NAWMP has a long history of success and has resulted in the securement of millions of acres of wetlands and wetland-associated habitats that support not only waterfowl but a host of other species. The scale of the program is enormous, not just in acreage, but in the level of ongoing funding support and in the wide array of partners involved. The North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA), the legislation that enables and directs funding for wetland conservation and the implementation of the NAWMP, has provided funding since 1991 along with matching funds by U.S. non-federal sources and Canadian sources. State funding of Canadian breeding ground projects is an important element in AFWAs strategy for achieving NAWMP goals. As NAWMP partners, states initiate many projects, including projects in Canada. State contributions provide non-federal monies, which are matched by Ducks Unlimited and the NAWCA. Canadian partners, in turn, contribute. However, it all starts with state contributions.

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In September 2011, the Association reconfirmed its goal for states to collectively contribute up to $10 million per year to NAWMP projects in Canada. The need is critically important because of continued habitat loss, drainage of wetlands and other pressures. The Association, through its Bird Conservation Committee and Waterfowl Working Group, is developing an Action Plan that will help states to move toward achieving that funding goal.

Climate Change
nationaL Fish, WiLdLiFe and pLants cLimate adaptation strateGy
In 2010, Congress called for a government-wide strategy to help decision-makers and resource managers prepare for and help reduce the impacts of climate change on fish, wildlife and plants, ecosystems and the people and economies that depend on them. Since then, the Association (represented by the New York Division of Fish, Wildlife and Marine Resources) has partnered with the USFWS and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to create the National Fish, Wildlife and Plants Climate Adaptation Strategy. The science-based Strategy represents a draft framework for unified action to safeguard species and their associated habitats that also considers the important benefits and services they provide such as jobs, food, clean water, clean air, building materials, storm protection and recreation. A steering committee of representatives from 16 federal agencies, five state fish and wildlife agencies and two intertribal commissions is leading the Strategy development, including agency representatives from California, Washington, Wisconsin, New York and North Carolina to ensure that all 50 states fish and wildlife concerns are voiced. The Association is providing staff support. Last year, the committee recruited more than 100 natural resource professionals and scientists from all levels of government nationwide to become Technical Team Members and write the Strategys source material. The material was synthesized into a draft document and then released for public comment in January 2012. The committee plans to publish the final Strategy in print and online by summer 2012. More information about the Strategy is available at www.wildlifeadaptationstrategy.gov.

southern WinGs
State wildlife agencies spend considerable time, money and effort ensuring good bird habitat exists within their states. The Southern Wings Program protects their investments by supporting the conservation of state-priority migratory bird species throughout their annual cycle on wintering grounds. Each year since its 2009 launch, Southern Wings has grown. To date, 12 state wildlife agencies (AR, AZ, IA, MO, MN, NE, OK, PA, SD, TN, TX, WI) and NEAFWA and their in-state partners have contributed more than $440,000 to critical conservation projects in the Western Hemisphere for state priority migratory birds. The funds have been matched by at least one to one (1:1). Projects include conservation and management of Cerulean Warbler habitat in South America; management and protection of Bicknells Thrush habitat in the Dominican Republic; management of grasslands habitat in Northern Mexico for highly imperiled grasslands species; and conservation action to improve the status of Golden-winged Warblers.

Furbearer Resources
Best manaGement practices
Trapping is a strictly regulated, law-enforced activity that helps state agencies collect information about wildlife and sustain healthy and diverse populations. To improve the welfare of captured animals and modernize trapping technology, AFWAs furbearer resources program has developed 20 Best Management Practices (BMPs) for Trapping in the U.S. over the past eight years. These BMPs for furbearers such as American Badger, Canada Lynx, Raccoon, Bobcat and Weasels are widely used among state agency trapper education programs and recognized international assemblies. Last year, the Association began testing protocols to release up to two more BMPs for Ringtail and possibly Gray Wolf in 2012.

Golden-winged W

arbler

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nationaL FurBearer harvest statistics dataBase

Available on www.fishwildlife.org, the U.S. Furbearer Conservation Technical Work Group produced a database that reports statistics for furbearer species harvested via trapping in the U.S. from 1970 to the present. This database will be updated yearly and will be expanded to include statistics on harvest of furbearers in Canada.

National Fish Habitat Partnership

Fish haBitat status report
The National Fish Habitat Action Plannow, The National Fish Habitat Partnership (NFHP)released Through A Fishs Eye: The Status of Fish Habitats In The United States 2010 report in April 2011. The report summarizes the results of an unprecedented, nationwide assessment of the human effects on fish habitat in the rivers and estuaries of the United States. Through a Fishs Eye provides an important picture of the challenges and opportunities facing fish and those engaged in fish habitat conservation efforts. Urbanization, agriculture, dams, culverts, pollution and other human impacts have resulted in specific areas of degraded habitat where restoration is most likely needed to bring back healthy habitats and fishing opportunities that once existed.

Invasive Species
Burmese pythons in Florida and Asian carp in the upper Midwest may have become the poster creatures for nonnative species, but many different types of fish, wildlife and plant invaders directly and indirectly threaten all states capacity to manage resources. Invasive species are found in every region of the U.S. and can cause significant and costly damage to the environment, the economy and human health. In the spring of 2011, AFWAs Invasive Species Committee helped plan and coordinate a panel on Aquatic Invasive Species during National Invasive Species Awareness Week. In addition, committee representative Tim Schaeffer (PA) participated in a special training session for Attorneys General at the National Attorneys General Training and Research Institute (NAGTRI) on Invasive Species in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Last year, the Invasive Species Committee furthered its collaboration with AFWAs Biofuels Working Group on the impacts of bioenergy feedstocks, with attention to related provisions in the Farm Bill and it continued to watch ballast water and recreational boating discharge legislation, regulations and best practices. The committee also engaged with the USFWS and the Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council (PIJAC) to begin discussing collaborative, non-regulatory approaches to nonnative, invasive species management.

10 Waters to Watch in 2011

The National Fish Habitat Partnership announced its 50th Water to Watch in 2011 as part of its annual top 10 list of freshwater, estuarine and marine habitats that are dramatically improving through voluntary habitat conservation. Alewife Brook/Scoy Pond, NY Au Sable River, MI Barrataria Bay, LA Batten Kill River, NY Cottonwood Creek, AK Duchesne River, UT Llano River, TX Manistee River, MI St. Charles Creek, ID Waipa Stream, HI

Batten Kill River, NY

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Babes do not tremble when they are shown a golf ball, but I should not like to own the boy whose hair does not lift his hat when he sees his first deer.

STEWARDShIP
Conservation Education
Research shows when youth experience direct, active contact with the outdoors, they are far more likely to grow into adults who value nature; make informed decisions to sustain it; and accept/participate in resource-related recreation like hunting, shooting sports, fishing and boating. This is the foundation of AFWAs North American Conservation Education (CE) Strategy. In 2011, the CE Strategy added seven, research-based products to its popular educational toolkit: Fostering Outdoor Observation Skills; Landscape Investigation Guidelines; Sustainable Tomorrow: A Teachers Guidebook for Applying Systems Thinking to Environmental Education Curricula; Schoolyard Biodiversity Investigation Educator Guide; Project-Based Learning Model; Benchmarks for Conservation Literacy; and the Outdoor Skills Education Handbook. These new tools further connect states CE programs to national K-12 standards for science, math, social science, physical education and more. The CE Strategy culminated the year by hosting a Symposium on Conservation and the Environment: Essential Components of the New Science Framework and STEM with the USFWS National Conservation Training Center and the National Environmental Education Foundation. More than 60 top educators from 35 state and federal agencies, NGOs and other organizations, including National Geographic and the National Science Foundation, spent a day discussing how the outdoor environment offers realworld opportunities to engage students in science learning and exploration. Attendees also identified next steps for continuing the dialogue.

~ Aldo Leopold, 1949 A Sand County Almanac

nationaL Fish haBitat Board

With a focus on the future, the National Fish Habitat Board began updating the National Fish Habitat Action Plans 2006 objectives. The Board plans to issue the revision in 2012. The Board also continues to advocate for the National Fish Habitat Conservation Act, which was introduced in the Senate in the current 112th Congress. If passed, the Act would authorize the Action Plan and fund fish habitat conservation projects.

nationaL Fish haBitat aWards

In April 2011, NFHP presented its annual awards to recognize the nations fish habitat conservation champions: Jim Range Conservation Vision AwardMaureen Gallagher, Midwest National Fish Habitat Partnership Coordinator for USFWS; Extraordinary Action AwardMark Johnson, Coos Bay (Bureau of Land Management (BLM)); Scientific Achievement AwardDr. Dana Infante, Assistant Professor, Dept. of Fisheries and Wildlife, Michigan State University and Dr. Stephen Brown, Chief, Assessment and Monitoring Division (NOAA/National Marine Fisheries Service) for their work on the National Status of Fish Habitats 2010 Report; Outreach and Educational Achievement AwardAndy DuPont, President, Glen Lake Association.

Wind Energy & Transmission

Managing wildlife resources and balancing the nations growing energy requirements, that includes wind power, isnt an easy task. As a board member of the American Wind Wildlife Institute and participant in the National Wildlife Coordinating Collaborative, the Association aims to facilitate timely and responsible wind energy production while protecting wildlife and wildlife habitat. Last year, the Association also played a key role in the development of the USFWS land-based wind siting guidelines. Upon the release of the guidelines in 2012, AFWA plans to work closely with the USFWS wind energy office to provide training opportunities for state agency staff on implementation. In addition, the Association assisted states in transmission planning efforts nationwide, especially concerning the incorporation of state wildlife agency data into the Eastern Interconnection Planning Collaboratives planning process to guide transmission development on a 30-year time horizon.

The North American Conservation Education Strategy Toolkit

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celebrating the 75th anniversary of the Wildlife and sport fish restoration program

Industry/Agency Coalition
Five years ago, leaders from state agencies; the Association; the hunting, shooting sports, archery, boating and sport fishing industries; and the USFWS convened the Industry/Agency Coalition to strengthen their partnership and commitment to fish and wildlife conservation and how it is funded, and to advance increased participation goals. Since then, the coalition has met annually at its Industry/ Agency Summit to identify recruitment and retention, outreach and funding priorities for the coming year. Members now attend each others trade shows and annual conferences and have rallied on issues such as public access, lead and support for shooting ranges that affect their mutual constituenciesthe recreational users of the vast resources entrusted to state agencies. In addition, the coalition has come together to raise awareness of the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program (WSFR) and the excise tax-paying industries more than $14 billion dollar contribution to conservation since 1937. To honor that partnership success, coalition members began planning a year-long WSFR 75th Anniversary celebration of events and promotions to kickoff at the 2012 SHOT Show and culminate on National Hunting and Fishing Day. The coalition also endorsed an educational curriculum Americas Wildlife: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow developed by the Arizona Game and Fish Dept. to teach high-schoolers about the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation. The department created a companion unit of activities especially for the 75th Anniversary for use by zoos, museums, summer camps and other informal academic settings.

In 2012, federal and state natural resource agencies, the excise-tax paying industries and the greater conservation community will proudly observe the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Programs anniversary and the partnership success that has led to 75 years of quality hunting, fishing, shooting, boating and wildlife-related recreation. Visit www.wsfr75.com to join the celebration, read success stories and download a communications toolkit. Get social on Facebook and YouTube at /WSFR75 and Twitter @WSFR75, #WSFR75.

Over the next year, the MSCGP will provide just over $2.6 million to the 12 projects selected by AFWAs state membership and recommended to the Service for funding during the 2012 cycle. Grant recipients include AFWA for coordination of Farm Bill implementation to optimize benefits to state agencies; the National Fish Habitat Action Plan Board for organizational development training for Fish Habitat Partnerships; and the National Wild Turkey Federation for a longitudinal evaluation of hunting, fishing, and shooting recruitment/retention programs.

counciL to advance huntinG and the shootinG sports

The Industry/Agency Coalition created and provided the initial funding for the Council to Advance Hunting and the Shooting Sports, a national organization focused on the recruitment and retention of hunters and shooters. Coalition members also are represented on the Councils 28-person Board of Directors, which hired Bill Creighton as its first chief executive officer in August. The Council will release its strategic plan in early 2012.

Multistate Conservation Grant Program

Since 2000, the Multistate Conservation Grant Program (MSCGP)co-administered by the Association and the USFWShas disbursed more than $75 million in PittmanRobertson/Dingell-Johnson federal aid funding for national and regional priority conservation projects of state fish and wildlife agencies. 1 1
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lEADERShIP
Management Assistance Team
AFWAs Management Assistance Team (MAT) provides consulting and training services to help state agencies increase their organizational effectiveness and leadership capacity. Training is offered through face-to-face workshops, webinars, online courses and certification in a conservation leadership program of study. In 2011, MAT staff conducted 91 consultations with 20 state agencies and regional associations, commissions and others on subjects ranging from reviewing state leadership programs and comprehensive agency effectiveness to training needs assessments and/or senior management change initiatives. MAT led 10 in-person workshops for five states and the Association on topics such as Mastering Agency Change, Seven Habits of Highly Effective People and Team Leader Skills. MAT also coached and certified five state agency employees through its Conservation Leadership Program of Study (CLPS) and began crafting three new educational offerings. In addition, MAT conducted 20 online courses and created and delivered 11 webinars on such topics as creative and critical thinking, decision-making and leadership perseverance. MAT maintained three web sites and also completed a paper on how to improve assessing MATs effectiveness; developed a white paper: Rethinking Strategic Planning; helped develop and co-facilitated a special session on agency transformation; and delivered formal presentations/plenaries about leading agencies into the future at one state agency and NEAFWAs annual conference.

In utilizing and conserving the natural resources of the Nation, the one characteristic more essential than any other is foresight.

~ Theodore D. Roosevelt U.S. President

National Conservation Leadership Institute

The National Conservation Leadership Institute (NCLI) is conservations premier world-class experience for developing tomorrows natural resource management leaders. The NCLI is staffed by MAT and participants (Fellows) are selected through a rigorous evaluation of nominations submitted by agency, NGO and industry directors/CEOs. In May 2011, the 36 Fellows of Cohort 5 graduated and joined NCLIs Alumni organization, a platform for Fellows to continue their professional development. Five months later, the 36 Fellows of Cohort 6 completed their 11-day residency training at the National Conservation Training Center and began peer consulting with one another about their individual adaptive leadership challenge projects. Instructors from Harvards Kennedy School of Government and other internationally renowned leadership experts helped provide an incomparable program. The NCLI encourages agencies to add the NCLI to their states annual charitable giving campaign lists since the NCLI is a 501(c)3 organization and direct donations are fully tax-deductible.

National Conservation Leadership Institute Cohort 5 2010 - 2011

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2011 ANNuAl MEETING

he Association held its 101st Annual Meeting, September 1114, in Omaha, Nebraska. The 2011 plenary asked attendees to do a Reality Check and consider whether theyre on target or falling out of range with todays customers, constituencies and employees and what they want. AFWA thanks speakers Allen Beerman, Executive Director of the Nebraska Press Association; Dave Rozman, Director of Teen Services for the Boys & Girls Clubs of America; Joe and Mark LaBarbera, media

2011 Plenary Speakers

experts; and Carter Smith, Executive Director of Texas Parks and Wildlife Dept. for their insights on trends, programming and competition.

2011 ANNUAL AWARdS

The Association honored 12 individuals and two state agencies for their outstanding and longstanding commitment to conservation stewardship at its Annual Awards Ceremony. Seth gordon aWard Recognizing lifetime achievement, the Associations highest honor Rebecca Humphries, Regional Director, Ducks Unlimited; Former Director, Michigan Department of Natural Resources Ernest Thompson Seton Award Honoring an agency and team leader for leadership in scientific wildlife management Group: South Dakota Department of Game, Fish & Parks Individual: John Kanta, Wildlife Program Manager mark J. reeff memorial aWard Recognizing distinguished, young wildlife management professionals Kellie Tharp, Education Branch Chief, Arizona Game & Fish Department Boone & Crockett Club Award Recognizing outstanding achievement in promoting and encouraging outdoor ethics Group: Arizona Game & Fish Department Individual: Craig McMullen, Wildlife Recreation Branch Chief

Seth Gordon Award Recipient Rebecca Humphries

national Private landS fiSh and Wildlife SteWardShiP aWard Honoring an individual- or family-run farm, ranch or forest operation that has incorporated proactive conservation and environmental protection measures Alexander Ranch, Kansas SPeCial reCognition aWardS Recognizing individuals who distinguished themselves with an outstanding commitment to the work of the Association Jack Buckley, Deputy Director, Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife Randy Stark, Chief Conservation Warden, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Susan-Marie Stedman, NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service Dave White, Chief, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service Honorary Lifetime Memberships Rex Amack, Director, Nebraska Game & Fish Commission Terry Johnson, Threatened and Endangered Species Coordinator, Arizona Game & Fish Department Corky Pugh (Ret), Director, Alabama Wildlife & Freshwater Fisheries Division Tribute to Fallen Heroes Remembering wildlife professionals who lost their lives in the line of duty the previous year David L. Groves, Conservation Officer, Pennsylvania Game Commission

annual meeting sponsors

Platinum: Bass Pro Shops, NOAA, USFWS, USDAAPHIS-Wildlife Services, USDA-APHIS-Veterinary Services, U.S. Geological Survey / Gold: BLM, Ducks Unlimited, Kalkomey Enterprises, Inc., National Park Service, National Wild Turkey Federation / Silver: Boone and Crockett Club, National Shooting Sports Foundation, Parks by Nature Network, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, The Wildlife Society / Bronze: Active Network Outdoors, Archery Trade Association, D.J. Case & Associates, J.F. Griffin Publishing, LLC, Recreational Boating & Fishing Foundation, Systems Consultants, TASER International, Inc., The Nature Conservancy, U.S. Sportsmens Alliance, USDA Forest Service, Wildlife Forever / Hospitality: National Archery in the Schools Program, Mule Deer Foundation, Wildlife Management Institute / Plenary Session: U.S. Geological Survey Special Thank You: Nebraska Game & Parks Commission

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coMMITTEES, SubcoMMITTEES & WoRkING GRouPS

s history has shown, the cornerstone of fish and wildlife conservation is collaboration. The more than 1,000 members of AFWAs 70+ committees, subcommittees, working groups and task forces lead the charge in coordinating policy and viewpoints on priority issues that further our collective capacity to manage resources and shape a national fish and wildlife conservation agenda.
agriCultural ConServation
Biofuels Working Group Conservation Compliance Working Group Conservation Effects Assessment Project (CEAP) Working Group Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) Working Group Conservation Stewardship Program Working Group Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) Working Group Forestry Working Group Grasslands Reserve Program Working Group Public Access Working Group Strategy Working Group Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP) Working Group Wildlife Habitats Incentive Program (WHIP) Working Group

national grantS
2011 National Survey Working Group

oCean reSourCeS PoliCy reSolutionS SCienCe & reSearCh SuStainaBle uSe of Wildlife
Furbearer Conservation Technical Working Group

teaming With Wildlife

Effectiveness Measures Working Group

threatened & endangered SPeCieS PoliCy

ESA & Climate Change Working Group

angler/Boating PartiCiPation annual meeting/aWardS/nominating aSSoCiation Budget audit Bird ConServation

Migratory Shore & Upland Game Bird Working Group Partners in Flight/Shorebird/Waterbird Working Group Resident Game Bird Working Group Waterfowl Working Group

Wildlife reSourCe PoliCy

Amphibian & Reptile Subcommittee Human/Wildlife Conflict Working Group Federal Lands Access Working Group

taSk forCe
Federal Assistance Policy Presidents Task Force on Wildlife Diversity Funding

OFFICERS & EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE*

President Dr. Jon Gassett, Kentucky Department of Fish & Wildlife Resources Vice President Jeff Vonk, South Dakota Game, Fish & Parks Department Secretary/Treasurer Dave Chanda, New Jersey Division of Fish & Wildlife Past President Curtis Taylor, West Virginia Division of Natural Resources

Climate Change eduCation, outreaCh & diverSity

Diversity Working Group Education Working Group Outreach Working Group Wildlife Viewing & Nature Tourism Working Group

energy & Wildlife PoliCy

Coal Energy Subcommittee Onshore Oil & Gas and Oil Shale & Tar Sands Subcommittee Wind Energy & Transmission Subcommittee

ExEcutivE committEE
Chair Dan Forster, Georgia Wildlife Resources Division Vice Chair Larry Voyles, Arizona Game & Fish Department Members John Frampton, South Carolina Department of Natural Resources Wayne MacCallum, Massachusetts Division of Fisheries & Wildlife Ken Mayer, Nevada Department of Wildlife Paul Peditto, Maryland Wildlife and Heritage Service Carter Smith, Texas Parks & Wildlife Department Nick Wiley, Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission

exeCutive federal & triBal relationS fiSh & Wildlife health

Lead and Fish & Wildlife Health Working Group White Nose Syndrome in Bats Working Group

fiSh & Wildlife truSt fundS

Federal Assistance Working Group

fiSherieS & Water reSourCeS PoliCy

Drug Approval Working Group Natural Resource Damages Work Group

Ex-officio mEmbEr
Canada Mike Sullivan, New Brunswick Department of Natural Resources

hunting & Shooting SPortS PartiCiPation international relationS invaSive SPeCieS laW enforCement
Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact

rEgional association mEmbErs

Midwest Keith Sexson, Kansas Parks & Wildlife Department Northeast Glenn Normandeau, New Hampshire Fish & Game Department Southeast Bob Duncan, Virginia Department of Game & Inland Fisheries Western Paul Conry, Division of Forestry and Wildlife, Hawaii Department of Land & Natural Resources
*2011/2012 Officers & Executive Committee

leaderShiP & ProfeSSional develoPment legal legiSlative & federal Budget

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MEMbERS of ThE ASSocIATIoN of fISh & WIlDlIfE AGENcIES

he voice of fish and wildlife agencies is not a silent one. Thanks to the active engagement of AFWAs members, affiliates and contributors, this great assembly of agencies and organizations is finding new ways to overcome todays most pressing conservation challenges.

u.s. state & territoriaL Fish and WiLdLiFe aGency memBers

Alabama Division of Wildlife & Freshwater Fisheries Alaska Department of Fish & Game Arizona Game & Fish Department Arkansas Game & Fish Commission California Department of Fish & Game Colorado Division of Wildlife Connecticut Bureau of Natural Resources Delaware Division of Fish & Wildlife DC Environmental Health Administration Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission Georgia Wildlife Resources Division Guam Division of Aquatic & Wildlife Resources Hawaii Department of Land & Natural Resources Idaho Department of Fish & Game Illinois Department of Natural Resources Indiana Division of Fish & Wildlife Iowa Department of Natural Resources Kansas Department of Wildlife & Parks Kentucky Department of Fish & Wildlife Resources Louisiana Department of Wildlife & Fisheries Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife Maryland Wildlife & Heritage Service Massachusetts Division of Fisheries & Wildlife Michigan Department of Natural Resources Minnesota Division of Fish & Wildlife

Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries & Parks Missouri Department of Conservation Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife & Parks Nebraska Game & Parks Commission Nevada Department of Wildlife New Hampshire Fish & Game Department New Jersey Division of Fish & Wildlife New Mexico Game & Fish Department New York Division of Fish, Wildlife & Marine Resources North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission North Dakota Game & Fish Department Ohio Division of Wildlife Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission Pennsylvania Game Commission Rhode Island Division of Fish & Wildlife South Carolina Department of Natural Resources South Dakota Game, Fish & Parks Department Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency Texas Parks & Wildlife Department Utah Division of Wildlife Resources Vermont Department of Fish & Wildlife Virginia Department of Game & Inland Fisheries Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife West Virginia Division of Natural Resources Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Wyoming Game & Fish Department

u.s. FederaL memBers

Bureau of Land Management National Marine Fisheries Services National Park Service U.S. Department of Agriculture - APHIS/Veterinary Services U.S. Department of Agriculture - APHIS/Wildlife Services U.S. Department of Agriculture - Forest Service U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service U.S. Geological Survey

north american memBers

Alberta Wildlife Management Division Canadian Wildlife Service New Brunswick Department of Natural Resources Northwest Territories Department of Renewable Resources Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources Saskatchewan Environment

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internationaL memBer
Forestry Bureau, Council of Agriculture, Republic of China

aFFiLiate memBers
Association for Conservation Information Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission College of Natural Resources (Univ. of Wisconsin-Stevens Pt.) The Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribes Great Lakes Fishery Commission Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission International Hunter Education Association National Association of State Boating Law Administrators North American Wildlife Enforcement Officers Association Organization of Wildlife Land & Realty Specialists Organization of Wildlife Planners Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission States Organization for Boating Access Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council Wildlife Disease Association

contriButinG memBers
American Eagle Foundation American Sportfishing Association Archery Trade Association Boone & Crockett Club Canadian Wildlife Federation Delta Waterfowl Foundation Ducks Unlimited Canada Ducks Unlimited, Inc. FishAmerica Foundation Forest Preserve District of DuPage County Fur Institute of Canada Fur Takers of America, Inc. Kalkomey Enterprises, Inc. National Audubon Society National Bowhunter Education Foundation National Marine Manufacturers Association
PHOTOGRAPHERS: Thank you to these talented photographers for sharing their incredible images with AFWA: Featured Photographer and Cover Photo: George Andrejko, Arizona Game & Fish Department Page 3 Photo: Trey Reid, Arkansas Game & Fish Commission Annual Meeting: Doug Carroll, Nebraska Game & Parks Commission Inside Back Cover: Tim Daniel, Ohio Division of Wildlife Additional images provided by: John Brunjes, Kentucky Dept. of Fish & Wildlife Resources; Chase Fountain, Texas Parks & Wildlife Dept.; Bill Hubick; Hayley Lynch, Kentucky Dept. of Fish & Wildlife Resources; National Conservation Leadership Institute; Nebraska Game & Parks Commission; Shutterstock; Tim Torrell, Nevada Dept. of Wildlife; and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

National Rifle Association Conservation, Wildlife & Natural Resources Division National Shooting Sports Foundation, Inc. National Trappers Association National Wild Turkey Federation National Wildlife Federation The Nature Conservancy NatureServe North American Falconers Association North American Grouse Partnership North American Wetlands Conservation Council North Dakota Natural Resources Trust Northwest Marine Technology, Inc. Outdoor Roadmap The Peregrine Fund Pheasants Forever Recreational Boating & Fishing Foundation Resource Management Service, LLC Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation The Ruffed Grouse Society Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership U.S. Sportsmens Alliance Weatherby Foundation International Wild Sheep Foundation Wildlife Management Institute The Wildlife Society

Graphic design: Victor Young Thanks also to Virginia Shepherd and the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries for writing a history of the Federal Aid to Wildlife Restoration Act and to Dian Olson Belanger and Adrian Kinnane for their accounts in the book, Managing American Wildlife: A History of the International Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies. AFWA

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2011 fINANcIAlS

he Association leverages every $1 contributed by state fish and wildlife agencies with an additional $4 attained from other sources to enrich North Americas legacy of fish and wildlife conservation in the public interest. 2011 REVEnUE
Other Revenue $857,760 Membership $1,169,640 Program Grants $2,938,700

MEMBERSHIP DUES
State Federal Provincial Associate Affiliate Contributing 22% <1% <1% <1% <1% <1% 20.9% 31.4% 1.2% 4.3% 7.6% 1.4% 9.3% <1%

GRAnT REVEnUE
Federal Multistate Foundation International

2011 EXPEnSES

OTHER REVEnUE
Annual Meeting Misc. State Contributions Overhead Miscellaneous

General and Administration $1,721,970

Conservation Programs $3,063,170

totaL revenue totaL expenses

$4,966,100 $4,785,170

The Associations independently audited financial statements and IRS Form 990 are available upon request.

STAFF
Ron Regan, Executive Director Carol Bambery, General Counsel John Bloom, Accounting Manager Dr. Arpita Choudhury, Science & Research Liaison Estelle Green, Administrative Assistant Dr. Dwight Guynn, Management Assistance Team Project Leader (USFWS) Dr. Sally Guynn, MAT Team Leader Deb Hahn, International Resource Director Mark Humpert, Wildlife Diversity Director Jacqueline Linton, MAT Office Manager Laura MacLean, Communications & Marketing Director Gina Main, Management Assistance Team Project Leader Michael Marcum, Multistate Conservation Grant Program / Industry-Agency Coalition Coordinator Matt Menashes, Operations Director Amanda Myers, MAT Training & Information Services Administrator Priya Nanjappa, Amphibian & Reptile Coordinator Angela Rivas Nelson, Executive Assistant Mary Pfaffko, Teaming With Wildlife Coordinator Ryan Roberts, National Fish Habitat Partnership Communications Coordinator Devon Ryan, Climate Change Assistant Jen Mock Schaeffer, Agriculture Conservation Policy Analyst Liz Skipper, Administrative Assistant Dean Smith, North American Waterfowl Management Plan Coordinator Gary Taylor, Legislative Director Allison Vogt, Migratory Bird/NABCI Initiative/Wind Energy Coordinator Bryant White, Furbearer Research Coordinator

The Association thanks Don Larsen (Washington Dept. of Fish & Wildlife); Luke Miller (Ohio Division of Wildlife); Sal Palazzolo (Idaho Fish & Game Dept.); and Lisa Potter (Missouri Dept. of Conservation) for joining us in Washington, DC on detail from their agencies to support AFWAs Farm Bill work.

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We need the tonic of wildness.

~ Henry David Thoreau

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The Voice of Fish and Wildlife Agencies

FOLLOW US:

444 North Capitol Street, NW Suite 725 Washington, DC 20001 Phone: 202/624-7890 Fax: 202/624-7891 Email: info@fishwildlife.org www.fishwildlife.org 2
Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies
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/AssociationofFishandWildlifeAgencies /NFHAP /WSFR75 /ConservationEducation /Teaming-With-Wildlife

@fishwildlife @FishHabitat @WSFR75

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