LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission director tendered his resignation on Thursday at the monthly commission meeting.
Director Austin Booth has been director since 2021. His resignation will become effective Jan. 4, 2025, when he will transition to the private sector.
Helicopters drop gravel for Lake Conway habitat project, Arkansas Game and Fish Commission
Booth said he wanted to be able to devote more time to his family and allow someone else to take the reins of the agency and its pursuit of conservation.
“I want to thank my wife and my kids and my mom and dad and my in-laws … for keeping me grounded, for their encouragement and for making sacrifices so I can be effective,” Booth said. “It has been an incredible three and a half years and I have no people to thank more than my family.”
Arkansas Game and Fish Commission dedicates water-control structure on Glaise Creek
AGFC Commission Chairman J.D. Neeley thanked Booth for his service and dedication.
“On behalf of the other commissioners and the staff of the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, I want to thank Austin Booth, our director, for the last three and a half years of tireless dedication to the Commission and the people of the great state of Arkansas,” Neeley said in a statement. “There’s a saying, ‘Iron sharpens iron.’ His leadership has taken a tremendously skilled group of staff and strengthened our ability to put habitat and people first.”
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courtesy Arkansas Game and Fish Commission
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courtesy Arkansas Game and Fish Commission
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courtesy Arkansas Game and Fish Commission
During Booth’s service, officials said he oversaw the restoration of the commission’s greentree reservoirs, important for duck hunting, the rebuilding of the Craig D. Campbell Lake Conway Reservoir, the first-ever stocking of Titan Maxx bass in a public reservoir, an expansion of the state’s bear season and the elevation of private land enhancement.
Arkansas Game and Fish Commission initiative looks to open private waters to anglers
The director also oversaw breaking Arkansas Youth Shooting Sports, Archery in the Schools and AGFC Shooting Range programs into a standalone division.
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