Wildlife Diversity Managers Meet at Picturesque Lake Guntersville State Park

By DAVID RAINER, Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources

When the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (AFWA) staff scheduled AFWA’s annual Wildlife Diversity Program Managers Meeting at Lake Guntersville State Park, they didn’t realize the potential distraction just outside the meeting room windows.

Sitting on the banks of one of the most productive fisheries in the nation, Lake Guntersville State Park’s lodge atop Taylor Mountain offers stunning views of the 69,000-acre reservoir on the Tennessee River.

The meeting was the first time the AFWA event had been held in Alabama. The Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources’ (ADCNR) Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries (WFF) Division hosting. 

Mark Humpert, AFWA’s Director of Conservation Initiatives, admitted he was a bit surprised to see the natural diversity and beauty of Alabama’s landscape.

“I really didn’t expect to be in the mountains in Alabama,” Humpert said. “The drive here was just gorgeous, and now with the lake and having this view. This is a group who studied to be biologists, and when you’re in a room with a view like this, it’s good for us. Typically, we’d be in a windowless conference room, and it’s just special to be in this place with this magnificent view.

“When we got here, they (lodge staff) asked if they should pull the shades. We said, ‘No!’”

Humpert said several other revelations about Alabama occurred during meeting week.

“We learned about the incredible diversity here in Alabama,” he said. “This state is really on the map globally for salamanders and aquatic species. We got a chance to learn about the biological riches of Alabama and got to spend some time at Cathedral Caverns.”

Humpert said this meeting has been held for 30 years in late winter, the time of the year when wildlife diversity managers from around the nation get a chance to discuss topics that are affecting their work, spend time together and reinforce relationships.

“This meeting is a little bit unique because the states are getting ready to submit their third generation of their State Wildlife Action Plans (SWAP),” he said. “A lot of this meeting will be about the action plans and the vision for the future of the wildlife diversity programs. We have a small team that surveys all the states to better understand the structures and challenges of wildlife diversity programs.”

Amy Silvano, Section Chief with Alabama Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries, served as host for the event and talked about the amazing diversity of animals found in Alabama.

“What this meeting means to us is an opportunity for other states to recognize the immense number of non-game species in Alabama,” Silvano said. “We are first in the nation in aquatic biodiversity (fish, mussels, crayfish and snails) and third in the nation for herps (reptiles and amphibians). Hosting this meeting here puts Alabama on the forefront across the nation as being an epicenter of wildlife biodiversity. It gives us great pleasure to have all the state wildlife diversity program managers here to talk about the future and the visions of conservation for both non-game terrestrial and aquatic wildlife.

“This meeting also allows us to showcase what Alabama is doing, in this instance, in terms of non-game species. On Tuesday, we focused specifically on projects and accomplishments of our non-game programs, both aquatic and terrestrial programs, within Alabama. We have people here from Utah. We have people here from Idaho and Montana. Some of those states don’t have the diversity we have and are blessed with in the Southeast. For people to see the complexities of the natural systems and animals we’re dealing with tends to be eye-opening. It also lends to fostering communication among states, networking and problem-solving for future conservation needs for all of these animals.” 

On the meeting’s opening day, Judy Camuso, AFWA President, and Ron Regan, AFWA’s Executive Director, discussed what the future holds for wildlife diversity conservation.

“They shared their vision for this work, which is super critical,” Humpert said. “What the states are doing is under-resourced. We don’t have that dedicated, permanent funding that we’ve been working on for decades. But there is a lot of important work happening to prevent Endangered Species listing and preserve wildlife diversity.

“We capture action items throughout the meeting and try to capture between 25 and 30 action items, which are the next steps. It’s not just a meeting where we get information, have discussions and go home. It’s used to develop this work plan. It’s about tying these states together on certain species because species don’t know state boundaries. Sometimes these species even have international ranges. So, the collaboration that happens helps develop whole life cycle, range-wide conservation for fish and wildlife.”

Silvano added that a lack of dedicated funding is a hurdle that non-game species programs continue to face.

“We went through an exercise that identified three to five revelations that are most important to address in terms of conservation of wildlife, particularly non-game species,” Silvano said. “One of those is a stable funding source. Most of the programs that non-game species are funded under are non-mandatory appropriations, so they can come in and out of the budget. 

“The WSFR (Wildlife and Sportfish Restoration) program is a mandatory appropriation. That is one the hunters and anglers contribute to through excise taxes paid into the Pittman-Robertson and Dingell-Johnson funds. Those are allowed to be used for conservation actions for both game and non-game species. At our agency, we use those funds to not only manage the habitat as a whole, but the habitat management we do relates back to the functioning of the native ecosystem and habitat. So, we are managing with a multi-species approach on our WMAs (wildlife management areas), not just for game species but also non-game species. We are managing habitat, which benefits all species. Still, funding sources is one of the biggest issues that any agency faces with non-game species. We have a very small pot of money that can be used for amphibians, reptiles and mollusks, which are some of the most endangered species we have. The future of conservation is really pivotal in having a voice about the importance of managing for endangered species and their habitats.”

During the four-day event, Alabama State Parks Director Matthew Capps gave a presentation about bringing people together at Alabama State Parks. Capps oversees 21 State Parks that encompass more than 48,000 acres with three golf courses, over 500 miles of trails, 700 lodge rooms, 200 cabins and cottages and 2,600 campsites. Alabama State Parks sees 6.2 million visitors annually who produce a $375 million annual economic impact.

WFF Assistant Director Fred Harders gave a history of the division, the diversity of ecosystems and habitats across the state, and the different WFF programs for wildlife and fisheries conservation.

Jim Godwin, biologist with Auburn University’s Natural Heritage Program, showcased the ongoing effort to reestablish the Eastern indigo snake in Conecuh National Forest. The Eastern indigo project started in 2006, and the program was able to start releasing captive-raised indigos in 2010 with the release of 17 adult snakes. Additional snakes have been released each year with a goal of releasing 300 snakes to improve the chances of establishing a viable population.

WFF’s Mercedes Maddox shared about the amazing success of restoring populations of bald eagles in the state. Maddox said banning the pesticide DDT and other conservation measures caused the eagle population to rebound enough that bald eagles were downlisted from endangered to threatened in 1995 and then delisted in 2007. A 2019 survey indicated the U.S. has 71,400 nesting pairs of bald eagles and an estimated 316,700 individual birds. While not as common, Alabama’s wintering golden eagle population continues to provide biologists with more data on the species through game camera observations and telemetry surveys around the state during the winter.

Alabama Aquatic Biodiversity Center Supervisor Paul Johnson, considered one of the foremost authorities on mollusks in the U.S., gave a presentation about the incredible diversity of aquatic species in Alabama and how the center is propagating and trying to reestablish a number of endangered or at-risk mussels and snails in Alabama waters.

The meeting also covered the update process for the State Wildlife Action Plan for imperiled and at-risk species that each state is required to update and submit to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service every 10 years. It is due again in September this year. Visit www.outdooralabama.com/2025-swap-update for the latest on Alabama’s plan and how the public can participate in the review process.

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