Denby S. Lloyd, Commissioner
Tim Barry, Communications Director
P.O. Box115526
Juneau, Alaska 99811
Phone: (907) 465-6137 • Fax: (907) 465-2332
Press Release: No. 08-13, July 28, 2008
Contact: Tina Cunning, Special Assistant (907) 267-2248
Alaska Fish and Wildlife Officials Honored by Peers
Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies Give Lifetime Memberships to Robus, Hepler
(Juneau) –Two recently-retired Alaska state biologists this month received high honors from an association of their peers for their exemplary careers in fish and game management. Kelly Hepler, former Director of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s (ADF&G) Sport Fish Division, and Matt Robus, former Director of ADF&G’s Division of Wildlife Conservation, were given Honorary Lifetime memberships in the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (WAFWA) at its annual meeting that ended July 16th in Rapid City, South Dakota.
Hepler had a long and distinguished career at ADF&G, serving as Sport Fish Division Director for six years before retiring last fall. In awarding him the lifetime membership, WAFWA President Jeff Vonk cited Hepler’s “impressive resume of involvement and leadership in both WAFWA and AFWA (the national association) circles, and in other significant programs like the National Fish Habitat Initiative.” Hepler continues to work with ADF&G as a Special Project Co-coordinator, spearheading the creation of the Alaska Fish and Wildlife Heritage Foundation.
Robus, who also retired last year after a lengthy career in game management with ADF&G and served over a decade as Director and Deputy Director of the Wildlife Division, has been active in national and western North American wildlife associations. In his statement, President Vonk said, “Matt was the ‘go to’ guy for his agency throughout his career. He was also a shining star on the Pacific Flyway Council, and he burst prominently on to the national scene with Alaska’s pioneering monitoring protocol for detecting highly pathogenic avian diseases, a model that quickly became the ‘gold standard’ for monitoring across the country.”
WAFWA represents 23 states and Canadian provinces, spanning from Alaska to Texas and Saskatchewan to Hawaii — an area covering nearly 3.7 million square miles of some of North America's most wild and scenic country, inhabited by over 1500 premier wildlife species. WAFWA is a strong advocate of the rights of states and provinces to manage fish and wildlife within their borders. The Association has been a key organization in promoting the principles of sound resource management and the building of partnerships at the regional, national and international levels in order to enhance wildlife conservation efforts and the protection of associated habitats in the public interest.
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