Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies Relevancy Resolution

January 7, 2018

WHEREAS, healthy fish and wildlife and their habitats are essential to the quality of our lives and provide food, fiber, recreation, pollination, water purification and other ecosystem services;

WHEREAS, for more than a century, state, provincial and territorial fish and wildlife agencies have been guided by the principles of the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation to conserve fish and wildlife and their habitats for current and future generations;

WHEREAS, sportsmen and women have long been recognized as strong partners and have made significant contributions to fish and wildlife conservation;

WHEREAS, hunting and angling have been and will continue to be important avenues to participate in the outdoors and connect people with nature;

WHEREAS, society is becoming more diverse and wildlife value orientations are changing;

WHEREAS, society is becoming more urbanized, use of electronics is increasing, people are spending less time outdoors, participation in traditional outdoor pursuits is declining and people are acquiring information through new and different means;

WHEREAS, over twenty-five peer reviewed or peer edited papers have been published in natural resources journals on relevancy or related topics and the subject has been a frequent topic of plenary and special sessions at major fish and wildlife meetings;

WHEREAS, to meet the needs of changing societies, the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies recognizes the need to engage and serve diverse constituencies to help more people connect with nature;

WHEREAS, every state, provincial, and territorial fish and wildlife agency has its own unique circumstances, challenges and constituencies;

WHEREAS, the Blue Ribbon Panel on Sustaining America’s Diverse Fish and Wildlife Resources made two recommendations including “examine the impact of societal changes on the relevancy of fish and wildlife conservation and make recommendations on how programs and agencies can transform to engage and serve broader constituencies”;

WHEREAS, the Blue Ribbon Panel Relevancy Working Group was formed in 2016 and is working on recommendations on how to engage and serve broader constituencies.

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies requests, and fully supports, the Blue Ribbon Panel Relevancy Working Group assembling a diverse team of individuals to develop a draft road map by March 2019 that would help member organizations share successful strategies and help identify and break down barriers to engaging and serving all constituents.

Resolution jointly submitted by the Wildlife Diversity Conservation and Funding and Education, Outreach and Diversity Committees with a recommendation that it be passed.