November 2021 Edition | Volume 75, Issue 11
Published since 1946
Ann Forstchen Hired to Implement Relevancy Roadmap Work
Ann Forstchen will be joining the Wildlife Management Institute as Relevancy Specialist in early January after retiring from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) where she worked for 32 years. Forstchen was instrumental in developing awareness and increased application of social science in FWC including a recent focus on increasing the relevancy of state fish and wildlife agencies.
At FWC, Ann worked in multiple positions ranging from a biological technician at the Stock Enhancement Research Facility, then leading the agency’s fish health program; after getting her MBA, she worked in a number of administrative roles for the agency. She worked with experts around the country to co-develop training for staff on Human Dimensions and Social Science, Public Trust Doctrine, Adaptive Impact Management, Wildlife Governance Principles, Reasoning and Judgment, and others. She has facilitated dozens of Manager’s Models—a situational analysis tool developed specifically for state wildlife managers to better understand and address the system within which a conservation issue resides. She has published on many of these topics in Human Dimensions of Wildlife, Wildlife Society Bulletin, The Wildlife Professional, Frontiers in Science, Conservation Letters, and Journal of Wildlife Management and is a frequent special session organizer and speaker about conservation relevance at national conferences. Ann is a National Conservation Leadership Institute Fellow (Cohort 7) and has coached for NCLI Cohorts 10, 11, 13, and 15. She also coached for the New Jersey Conservation Leadership Program, the North Carolina Wildlife Leadership Development Program, and is on the technical team for the Western Conservation Leadership Development Program.
Ann’s recent work has focused on helping state conservation agencies increase conservation relevancy to more diverse constituencies. Ann is on the Relevancy Roadmap Coordination Team and has focused her work with Florida and other states to implement the Roadmap to improve conservation outcomes by engaging and serving broader constituencies. In her new role with WMI she will continue her work on conservation relevancy.
“WMI is excited to have Ann on our staff,” commented WMI President Steve Williams. "Her social science expertise and professional experience will support our work to make fish and wildlife conservation more relevant to the American public. Ann’s leadership will complement a strong WMI staff and add a new dimension to our work with partner agencies and organizations.”