After more than three decades devoted to fish and wildlife conservation, Ann Forstchen retired from the Wildlife Management Institute at the end of May. Ann joined WMI in January 2022 as our first, and to date only, Relevancy Specialist, a role she did not so much fill as define. The combination of talents she brought to it is genuinely rare, and the space she leaves behind will not be easily filled.

Ann came to WMI after a remarkable 32-year career with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, where her path traced nearly the full breadth of the profession. She began as a biological technician at the Stock Enhancement Research Facility, went on to lead the agency’s fish health program, and, after earning an MBA focused on state agency governance, moved into a series of administrative leadership roles. Few people understand a state wildlife agency from as many vantage points as Ann does, from the research bench to the boardroom.

It was in the human dimensions of conservation where Ann made her most distinctive mark. Working with experts across the country, she helped co-develop training for agency staff on subjects at the heart of modern wildlife governance, including human dimensions and social science, the Public Trust Doctrine, Adaptive Impact Management, Wildlife Governance Principles, reasoning and judgment, and ethics in conservation decision making. Her knowledge and contributions appeared throughout the literature, in Human Dimensions of Wildlife, the Wildlife Society Bulletin, The Wildlife Professional, Frontiers in Conservation Science, Conservation Letters, and the Journal of Wildlife Management, and she became a sought-after speaker and session organizer at conferences across the country.

At WMI, Ann devoted herself to helping state conservation agencies broaden the constituencies they serve and demonstrate the value of conservation to a wider public. As a member of the Fish and Wildlife Relevancy Roadmap Coordination Team, she worked with Florida and more than twenty other states to put the Roadmap’s recommendations into practice, and she co-authored the 2022 update to the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies’ Commission Guidebook. The through-line of her work, here and throughout her career, was a steady conviction that conservation succeeds only when it remains relevant to the people it serves.

Those of us fortunate enough to have worked alongside Ann know the bullet points tell only part of the story. She is, to put it plainly, a giant of intellect in a small frame, her cerebral capacity far grander than her diminutive stature, and she brought to every conversation a sharpness of mind and a generosity of spirit that made the entire team better. WMI is profoundly grateful for the years Ann spent with us. Her skill set is rare, her contributions are lasting, and she will be greatly missed.

Please join us in thanking Ann for her extraordinary service to wildlife conservation, and in wishing her every joy in a well-earned retirement.