On December 9, the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies announced that the Fish and Wildlife Relevancy Roadmap approved by directors in September is now available for public viewing. The document is meant to provide guidance to fish and wildlife conservation agencies to become relevant to a broader audience in order to expand public involvement and support for their activities. The Roadmap is not meant to be prescriptive, rather it provides multiple pathways to identify barriers affecting relevancy and ways agencies can respond to the social, economic, demographic, political, and environmental challenges that agencies are facing.

“The North American Model of Wildlife Conservation is the world’s most successful system of policies and laws to restore and safeguard fish and wildlife and their habitats through sound science and active management,” said Secretary Kelly Hepler of South Dakota Game, Fish, and Parks and President of the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies. “We also recognize that as society is becoming more urban and diverse, fish and wildlife agencies need new approaches to help engage the public and promote an understanding of the importance of maintaining healthy fish and wildlife. This roadmap is a tool to assist us in achieving that goal.”

In addition to the full report, AFWA has developed a web page with additional resources about the Roadmap including some of the materials used by team members to develop the roadmap, as well as other tools that may be useful to agencies.