The Wyoming Game and Fish Commission has been named the 2026 Commission/Board of the Year by the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, a regional group that includes 23 states and several Canadian provinces. The same awards announcement also put two Wyoming Game and Fish Department staff members in the spotlight: Dave Zafft and Christina Maleesa.
For the commission, the award recognizes significant contributions to the management, protection or enhancement of fish and wildlife resources over the past five years. Angi Bruce said the honor reflects work the commission has done for conservation efforts in Wyoming and praised commissioners for balancing scientific and socio-economic needs when shaping policy and regulations.
That is the part the award does not spell out. The recognition covers a five-year window, but the announcement does not identify which decisions or actions made the commission stand out from other boards in the region. It leaves the honor grounded in broad performance rather than a single named project or vote.
Zafft received the WAFWA Professional of the Year Award after a career that began in 1986 as a seasonal technician. He earned a master’s degree in fisheries biology in 1991 and went on to work as a Lander Regional Fisheries Biologist before taking on other fisheries roles. Maleesa received the Outstanding WAFWA Contributor of the Year Award for work inside the state and with partners on grant writing. She has worked for Game and Fish since 2014, served as Federal Aid Coordinator since 2023, represents U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Region 6 on the national Federal Aid Working Group, and previously received a 2022 Fiscal Employee of the Year award and a Director's Coin for her work on the Governor's Big Game License Coalition.
Bruce said the department is proud of both staff members and called the awards well deserved. The larger question now is whether the commission can keep that standard visible in the next round of decisions, because this honor recognizes a five-year body of work and the public record attached to it remains general.
