Press Releases

During the Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies 111th Annual Meeting, held September 8-14, the members recommended the approval of 42 projects to be funded through the Multistate Conservation Grant Program (MSCGP).

The membership of the Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies (Association) elected Tony Wasley, Director of the Nevada Department of Wildlife, as its new president during its 111th Annual Meeting in Providence, Rhode Island.

The voting membership of the Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies passed seven resolutions during its Business Meeting held on September 14, 2021.

The Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies welcomes Kurt Thiede as the new Government Affairs Director, effective July 14. Mr. Thiede will oversee and direct the legislative work of the Association before the U.S. Congress and the public policy work of the Association before the federal Executive Branch agencies. The Association will be saying goodbye to Jen Mock Schaeffer who will be moving back to her home state of Texas. Jen has worked tirelessly over her 19-year tenure to advance sound conservation legislation and policy that complements the goals and missions of the state fish and wildlife agencies.

The Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies is soliciting Initial Proposals for the 2022 Multistate Conservation Grant Program which funds projects that address regional or national level priorities of state fish and wildlife agencies. The deadline for submitting the Initial Proposals for 2022 cycle is May 17, 2021.

The Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies is pleased to announce the release of a new report “Advancing the National Fish, Wildlife, and Plants Climate Adaptation Strategy into a New Decade”. This is an update on the 2012 Strategy which was designed to enable natural resource managers to take effective steps towards climate adaptation. The new report presents an update of the science and practice, with a special section on Indigenous Knowledge systems, demonstrates implementation progress, and provides recommendations for the future.

The Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies is partnering with conservation leaders, including the National Wild Turkey Federation, Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation, Ducks Unlimited, Trout Unlimited, and Pheasants Forever to spearhead #ResponsibleRecreation, a media campaign encouraging Americans to enjoy outdoor recreation while adhering to proper COVID-19 safety protocol.

The Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies is currently soliciting recruitment, retention, and reactivation (R3) grant applications for the 2020 multistate conservation grant cycle. In December 2019, the Modernizing the Pittman-Robertson Fund for Tomorrow's Needs Act was passed by Congress and expanded the multistate conservation grant program to include up to an additional $5 million annually, beginning with 2020, for Wildlife Restoration eligible grants as defined by the legislation. This legislation expanded the purpose of the Pittman-Robertson (P-R) Fund to provide financial and technical assistance to the states for the promotion of hunting and recreational shooting and allows flexibility for state fish and wildlife agencies to use their P-R funds for the recruitment of sportsmen and women. During the now expanded multistate conservation grant program cycle, the Association will be placing priority on projects that serve to create a solid R3 infrastructure, with an additional focus on monitoring and evaluating the long-term impact of R3 efforts created through the Act, in addition to the delivery of R3 initiatives.

The Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies is pleased to announce the release of the Fish and Wildlife Relevancy Roadmap. The roadmap is meant to be a practical guide that state, provincial and territorial fish and wildlife conservation agencies can use to overcome barriers to broader relevance, public engagement and support. The roadmap was adopted by the Association at its 2019 Annual Meeting in St. Paul, Minnesota.

The voting membership of the Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies passed ten resolutions during its Business Meeting held on September 25, 2019.