The membership of the Association of Fish &
Wildlife Agencies today elected Larry Voyles, director of the Arizona Game and
Fish Department, as its new president during AFWA's 104th Annual Meeting in St.
Louis, Missouri.
In accepting AFWA’s presidency, Voyles reflected on the
critical importance of the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation as the
nation’s unique system of governance for delivering fish and wildlife
conservation on a continental scale.
“We are able to deliver a figure
as significant as nearly $4.5 billion of conservation in the U.S. alone only
because the people we serve will it
and desire it,” said Voyles. “It is
that ‘good will’ that can ultimately guarantee this wildlife legacy in which we
take so much pride, and because of that fact, we absolutely must tell those we
serve the story of who we are, where we come from, how we do business and why.”
Voyles urged his colleagues to tell the great story of
conservation again and again. He also
praised the coordinating action and capability of the Association of Fish &
Wildlife Agencies and the regional fish and wildlife agencies’ associations;
recognized professionals across the country for their tireless dedication to
conservation; and he held a moment of silence for those fallen heroes who lost
their lives in the line of duty in 2014.
“The directors of the state and
provincial wildlife agencies are truly blessed as leaders, but more
importantly, all of North America is truly blessed to have the kind of
dedicated conservation professionals who simply refuse to let our wildlife
future fade,” said Voyles.
Voyles will serve as AFWA President through September 2015.
“Larry Voyles is a true leader and a conservation visionary
who will leave a lasting imprint on our organization,” said Dan Forster,
director of the Georgia Wildlife Resources Division and the 2013-2014 AFWA
president. “He understands the vital role played by state and provincial
wildlife officials in the conservation of North American species and habitats,
and we expect President Voyles will excel at representing both wildlife
conservation professionals and the North American species we hold in trust.”
Voyles joined the Arizona Game and Fish Department in 1974
as a wildlife manager (game ranger), serving over the next 10 years in the
Wellton, Wickenburg and Prescott districts. He subsequently served as
the wildlife enforcement program coordinator and as the
department’s training coordinator before being promoted to supervisor of
the Yuma region in 1988 and then agency director in 2008. Voyles holds a B.S.
in wildlife biology from Arizona State University.
