{"id":19321,"date":"2025-06-16T16:22:07","date_gmt":"2025-06-16T23:22:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/?p=19321"},"modified":"2025-06-16T22:38:32","modified_gmt":"2025-06-17T05:38:32","slug":"az-commission-named-commission-of-the-year-at-wafwa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/2025\/06\/16\/az-commission-named-commission-of-the-year-at-wafwa\/","title":{"rendered":"AZGF named \u201cCommission of Year\u201d\u00a0at WAFWA"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>NEWS RELEASE<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>June 16, 2025<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em><strong>Former AZGFD Director Ty Gray and WAFWA Ecosystem and Grassland Coordinator Bill Van Pelt also recognized<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>PROVO, Utah \u2014 Commissioners overseeing the Arizona Game and Fish Department (AZGFD) \u2014 Clay Hernandez, Marsha Petrie Sue, Jeff Buchanan, Jim Goughnour, and Kurt Kerr \u2014 proudly accepted the prestigious 2025 Commission of the Year Award from the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (WAFWA) during its summer conference June 2-6 in Provo, Utah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The award recognizes the commission\u2019s exemplary leadership, innovation, and steadfast commitment to wildlife conservation in establishing policy for AZGFD and working with agency leadership to provide guidance and oversight.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>WAFWA, which represents 23 western states and Canadian provinces, promotes collaborative, science-based strategies to conserve and manage fish and wildlife across the western region of North America.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Arizona\u2019s commission was honored for its proactive conservation efforts, public engagement, and forward-thinking policies that support sustainable wildlife populations and habitats. Remarkably, the commission oversees the conservation of more than 800 wildlife species without receiving state tax dollars, highlighting its effective self-funded model.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201dThis honor reflects the hard work and shared vision of the entire commission,\u201d said Commissioner Marsha Petrie Sue. \u201cWe are deeply committed to conserving Arizona\u2019s wildlife heritage for future generations.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In addition to the commission\u2019s award, former Arizona Game and Fish Department Director Ty Gray received WAFWA\u2019s Honorary Lifetime Membership Award, recognizing his impactful leadership and dedication that elevated the department\u2019s visibility and effectiveness during his tenure. Gray served as director from 2017 until his retirement in late 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>AZGFD\u2019s Bill Van Pelt, who serves as WAFWA\u2019s ecosystem and grassland coordinator, received the President\u2019s Award for his conservation efforts for various grassland species, including prairie dogs, ferrets, swift foxes, and lesser prairie chickens. His focus is on effective conservation plans that provide information on habitat and species to inform listing efforts.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The WAFWA Awards Ceremony honors conservation professionals from the western states, territories and provinces for their exemplary commitment to conservation stewardship.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Recognized for leadership, innovation, &#038; commitment to wildlife conservation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":19324,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[92],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19321","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-main-site"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>AZGF named \u201cCommission of Year\u201d\u00a0at WAFWA - Arizona Game &amp; Fish Department<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/2025\/06\/16\/az-commission-named-commission-of-the-year-at-wafwa\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"AZGF named \u201cCommission of Year\u201d\u00a0at WAFWA - Arizona Game &amp; Fish Department\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Recognized for leadership, innovation, &amp; commitment to wildlife conservation.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/2025\/06\/16\/az-commission-named-commission-of-the-year-at-wafwa\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Arizona Game &amp; Fish Department\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-06-16T23:22:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-06-17T05:38:32+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/azgfd-portal-wordpress-pantheon.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/16161939\/Commission-Award-WAFWA-2025_360.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"360\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"360\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"tcadden\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"tcadden\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/2025\/06\/16\/az-commission-named-commission-of-the-year-at-wafwa\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/2025\/06\/16\/az-commission-named-commission-of-the-year-at-wafwa\/\",\"name\":\"AZGF named \u201cCommission of Year\u201d\u00a0at WAFWA - Arizona Game &amp; Fish Department\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/2025\/06\/16\/az-commission-named-commission-of-the-year-at-wafwa\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/2025\/06\/16\/az-commission-named-commission-of-the-year-at-wafwa\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/azgfd-portal-wordpress-pantheon.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/16161939\/Commission-Award-WAFWA-2025_360.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-06-16T23:22:07+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-06-17T05:38:32+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/#\/schema\/person\/e4f5030d8d438479f13a1f15a784c47a\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/2025\/06\/16\/az-commission-named-commission-of-the-year-at-wafwa\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/2025\/06\/16\/az-commission-named-commission-of-the-year-at-wafwa\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/2025\/06\/16\/az-commission-named-commission-of-the-year-at-wafwa\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/azgfd-portal-wordpress-pantheon.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/16161939\/Commission-Award-WAFWA-2025_360.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/azgfd-portal-wordpress-pantheon.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/16161939\/Commission-Award-WAFWA-2025_360.jpg\",\"width\":360,\"height\":360},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/2025\/06\/16\/az-commission-named-commission-of-the-year-at-wafwa\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"AZGF named \u201cCommission of Year\u201d\u00a0at WAFWA\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/\",\"name\":\"Arizona Game &amp; Fish Department\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/#\/schema\/person\/e4f5030d8d438479f13a1f15a784c47a\",\"name\":\"tcadden\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/003831402a777d7d8fa61b21ec4ecd54b062f57a6d16d125e822dddf6f5e98be?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/003831402a777d7d8fa61b21ec4ecd54b062f57a6d16d125e822dddf6f5e98be?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"tcadden\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/author\/tcadden\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"AZGF named \u201cCommission of Year\u201d\u00a0at WAFWA - Arizona Game &amp; Fish Department","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/2025\/06\/16\/az-commission-named-commission-of-the-year-at-wafwa\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"AZGF named \u201cCommission of Year\u201d\u00a0at WAFWA - Arizona Game &amp; Fish Department","og_description":"Recognized for leadership, innovation, & commitment to wildlife conservation.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/2025\/06\/16\/az-commission-named-commission-of-the-year-at-wafwa\/","og_site_name":"Arizona Game &amp; Fish Department","article_published_time":"2025-06-16T23:22:07+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-06-17T05:38:32+00:00","og_image":[{"width":360,"height":360,"url":"https:\/\/azgfd-portal-wordpress-pantheon.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/16161939\/Commission-Award-WAFWA-2025_360.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"tcadden","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"tcadden","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/2025\/06\/16\/az-commission-named-commission-of-the-year-at-wafwa\/","url":"https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/2025\/06\/16\/az-commission-named-commission-of-the-year-at-wafwa\/","name":"AZGF named \u201cCommission of Year\u201d\u00a0at WAFWA - Arizona Game &amp; Fish Department","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/2025\/06\/16\/az-commission-named-commission-of-the-year-at-wafwa\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/2025\/06\/16\/az-commission-named-commission-of-the-year-at-wafwa\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/azgfd-portal-wordpress-pantheon.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/16161939\/Commission-Award-WAFWA-2025_360.jpg","datePublished":"2025-06-16T23:22:07+00:00","dateModified":"2025-06-17T05:38:32+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/#\/schema\/person\/e4f5030d8d438479f13a1f15a784c47a"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/2025\/06\/16\/az-commission-named-commission-of-the-year-at-wafwa\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/2025\/06\/16\/az-commission-named-commission-of-the-year-at-wafwa\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/2025\/06\/16\/az-commission-named-commission-of-the-year-at-wafwa\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/azgfd-portal-wordpress-pantheon.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/16161939\/Commission-Award-WAFWA-2025_360.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/azgfd-portal-wordpress-pantheon.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/16161939\/Commission-Award-WAFWA-2025_360.jpg","width":360,"height":360},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/2025\/06\/16\/az-commission-named-commission-of-the-year-at-wafwa\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"AZGF named \u201cCommission of Year\u201d\u00a0at WAFWA"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/","name":"Arizona Game &amp; Fish Department","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/#\/schema\/person\/e4f5030d8d438479f13a1f15a784c47a","name":"tcadden","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/003831402a777d7d8fa61b21ec4ecd54b062f57a6d16d125e822dddf6f5e98be?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/003831402a777d7d8fa61b21ec4ecd54b062f57a6d16d125e822dddf6f5e98be?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"tcadden"},"url":"https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/author\/tcadden\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19321","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19321"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19321\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19331,"href":"https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19321\/revisions\/19331"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19324"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19321"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19321"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.azgfd.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19321"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}