SEAFWA News

The South Carolina Senate confirmed Thomas S. (Tom) Mullikin, Ph.D., J.D., as director of the S.C. Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR) in a unanimous vote Wednesday. He was then sworn into office by Senate President Thomas C. Alexander.

Mullikin assumes the top post at SCDNR, serving as the agency’s chief administrator at the direction of the seven-member Natural Resources Board. He replaces Robert H. Boyles Jr., who has retired after more than 30 years of service to the agency.

“Serving our state as the Director of the Department of Natural Resources for one of the...

(Avian Influenza | U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service)

Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) viruses can severely affect domestic animal, wildlife, and sometimes human health.

Outbreaks of Eurasian lineage highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses have been impacting domestic poultry and wild bird populations in Europe and Asia since August 2020. Introduction of the Eurasian lineage HPAI to North America occurred in late 2021, at least two additional virus introductions have occurred since then.

HPAI cases have now been...

At their annual conference held in Augusta, Georgia December 9-13, 2024, the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (SEAFWA) recognized Dr. W. Daryl Jones, Extension Professor of Wildlife Sciences at Mississippi State University, as the recipient of their most prestigious award, the C. W. Watson Award. 

The C.W. Watson Award is presented to the individual who, in the opinion of the C.W. Watson Award Selection Committee, has made the greatest contribution to fish and wildlife...

At its business meeting today, the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission announced that after a thorough application and review process, the Commission selected Michael Kyle Briggs as executive director of the agency. Since December 2015 Briggs has served as Chief Deputy Director overseeing the agency’s day-to-day operations as well as leading the agency’s Law Enforcement, Wildlife Management, Inland Fisheries and Habitat Conservation Divisions and a newly established Genetics Program. Briggs will transition into his new role on Jan. 1, 2025...

The Missouri Conservation Commission has selected Jason Sumners as the next director of the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC), effective June 1, 2024. Sumners currently serves as the deputy director of resource management for MDC and will succeed Sara Parker Pauley, who will retire this spring after 30 years of public service, as director.

“The Commission did a national search for the director position because we knew we had tough shoes to fill with Sara leaving,” said Missouri Conservation Commission Chair Steven Harrison. “Jason is uniquely poised for this director...

Recent research finds that 86 percent of firearm owners and sport shooters who do not hunt support the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Program, which uses revenues from a tax on firearms, ammunition, and archery equipment to fund wildlife conservation efforts carried out by state fish and wildlife agencies across the country. 

When the Federal Aid legislation was passed in 1937, most of the people who purchased the taxable equipment were primarily hunters—in this way, the funding mechanism represented a classic “user-pay, user-benefit” system in which hunters helped to...

By Joe Jerek, MDOC

Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) Director Sara Parker Pauley announced she will retire July 1 after a 30-year career in public service that began as a policy coordinator at MDC and ended as the first female director of the agency when she took the position in November 2016. 

“The opportunity to serve as director of one of the top conservation agencies in the country over the last seven years -- and to work alongside an immensely talented team of staff, partners, and commissioners -- has been a life-changing experience for me,” said Pauley...

At their annual conference held in Corpus Christi, Texas, October 15-18, the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (SEAFWA) recognized Dr. Robert J. Warren, retired Professor Emeritus at University of Georgia’s Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, as the recipient of their most prestigious award, the...

The Council to Advance Hunting and the Shooting Sports (CAHSS) is pleased to welcome Olivia Harmsen as the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (SEAFWA) Regional R3 Coordinator.

Harmsen has been fully engaged in the R3 Community since 2015, serving the past eight years for the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources (KDFWR) in several roles, including regional hunter training officer, acting administrative branch manager, and R3 Coordinator. During the past five years as the R3 Coordinator she helped drive recruitment, retention, and reactivation...

The directors of the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (SEAFWA) recently voted at their annual spring meeting for member states to collectively partner with the Council to Advance Hunting and the Shooting Sports (CAHSS) and the Recreational Boating & Fishing Foundation (RBFF) to co-fund a southeastern Recruitment, Retention, and Reactivation (R3) Coordinator position.  “We all know having a dedicated person to help us with planning, proposals, partnerships, coordination, evaluations, and communication will greatly enhance our capacity as a region to advance R3...