September 2021 - 34

Wyoming Game and Fish Commissioners were among those who took a wildlife viewing tour in the Jackson Region in April. (Photo by Mark Gocke/WGFD)
" The primary roles for
our Commission are to
oversee the department's
budget, set policy for
the department and to
promulgate regulations to
manage wildlife including
setting hunting seasons. "
- Brian Nesvik, Wyoming
Game and Fish director
meetings and other events while serving in their
official capacity.
" Since wildlife in Wyoming is owned by
the citizens of the state and managed in trust
by the Game and Fish Department, it makes
sense that a group of citizens have a role in
overseeing the state's wildlife management
agency, " said Game and Fish Director Brian
Nesvik. " The primary roles for our Commission
are to oversee the department's budget,
set policy for the department and to promulgate
regulations to manage wildlife including
setting hunting seasons. "
The role of the Commission is unique,
providing citizen oversight of the conservation
and management of more than 800 species of
Wyoming's wildlife. It creates policy for the
Game and Fish Department and according
to state statutes, " provides an adequate and
flexible system of control, propagation, management
and protection and regulation of all
wildlife in Wyoming. "
" There were several reasons cited by early
decision makers in the formation of game and
fish commissions around the country, " Nesvik
said. " At the core of those reasons was to create
some buffer between politics and science. The
way I think about roles between the department
and the Commission are fairly simple.
Many of the roles and duties are spelled out
34 | September 2021
in statute, but simplistically, the department
has a responsibility to do the technical and
science-based parts of wildlife management
and the Commission has a responsibility to
consider both the department's science and
the thoughts and objectives of the citizens of
the state. "
The governor makes appointments to the
Commission. Over the past century Commissioners
have come to the board with a variety
of backgrounds and experiences that ranged
from livestock operators, teachers, lawyers, coal
miners, dentists and even a former Hollywood
stuntman in Rusty Holler, who represented
Campbell, Johnson and Sheridan counties in
the late 1980s and early 1990s. But they all
share a willingness to be advocates for Wyoming's
wildlife.
" The opportunity to Conserve Wildlife,
Serve People (Game and Fish's mission statement)
was probably foremost on my mind, "
said Bill Williams, a veterinarian from Thermopolis
who served on the Commission from
2003-09. " It's a simple but effective mission
statement. In my mind, every issue had to be
run through that statement before a decision
could be made. I think the Commission and
its mission gives additional credibility to the
work of the department in the eyes of the
citizens of the state. "

September 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of September 2021