FreeLists / bristol-birds / [Bristol-Birds] Board Names Bob Duncan VDGIF Director

["Wallace Coffey" <jwcoffey@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Richmond, VA - The Board of Game and Inland Fisheries announced at a 
special meeting Wednesday that Robert W. "Bob" Duncan will be the 
Executive Director of the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries 
(VDGIF).  
 
Bob Duncan has worked for 34 years as a wildlife professional. Thirty of his 
34 years of public service have been with VDGIF, most recently serving as 
Director 
of the agency's Wildlife Division. He has held that leadership role since March 
of 
1990. Prior to that, he served as Assistant Chief of Wildlife. Before that he 
worked 
as a Game Management Field Coordinator. 

Duncan joined VDGIF as a District Game Biologist
at Marion in Southwest Virginia in 1978, after a year 
with the Kansas Fish and Game Commission and 
three years with the Tennessee Wildlife Resources 
Agency at Morristown, TN where, as the Region IV 
wildlife biolgoist, he was responsible for all wildlife 
management activites in Northeast Tennessee. 
Duncan is from Radford and garduated in from the 
University of Tennessee with a bachelor degree in
forestry.  He is married to Dr. Suzanne Nash Duncan, 
a native of Wise, VA, who still has family there.  
The Duncans reside in Henrico County.

While in Northeast Tennessee he participated in 
banding Great Horned Owls with Bert Hale, Ken Hale 
and Wallace Coffey.   From 1978 to 1980, he held
a U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service bird banding permit 
(sub-permittee 9074-C) under Coffey. 

Throughout his management career, Bob Duncan has been a hands-on leader, 
working closely with Wildlife Division personnel at all levels. Furthermore, he 
has worked on a variety of projects that also involved the Fisheries and 
Wildlife 
Diversity Divisions of VDGIF, the Law Enforcement Division and the 
Administrative 
Division.

Under his leadership the Wildlife Division has added several Wildlife Management
 Areas (WMAs), including Big Survey WMA, Featherfin WMA, Cavalier WMA, and 
most recently, Merrimac WMA; built shooting ranges for public use and for use by
 the agency's Law Enforcement Division; implemented the telephone checking 
system,
 "Got Game"; developed comprehensive management plans for black bear,
 white-tailed deer, and other species; developed plans to address wildlife 
diseases
 such as hemorrhagic disease, chronic wasting disease, avian influenza and hoof
 and mouth disease. His forward-thinking management has enabled the Board of 
Game and Inland Fisheries to position the Commonwealth of Virginia as better
 prepared for wildlife disease prevention and early detection of wildlife 
diseases. 
An avid hunter, he brings to the position a passion for the sport and a 
first-hand
 understanding of the hunter's perspective. VDGIF Board Chairman Jimmy Hazel 
stated, "Bob Duncan is highly regarded by wildlife professionals and sportsmen 
alike. His passion for his work and commitment to the science of wildlife 
management 
has earned him a national reputation among wildlife professionals. His passion 
for 
hunting gives him a special connection with the Department's constituents."
Duncan earned his Bachelor of Science in Forestry (with Wildlife Option) from 
the
 University of Tennessee in 1971. In 1974, he completed his Master of Science 
in 
Wildlife Management from that same university. 

He has been a member of The Wildlife Society since 1970, becoming a Certified 
Wildlife Biologist in 1980. He has been a member of the Southeastern Section of 
The Wildlife Society since 1979 and is a lifetime honorary member. He has 
served 
in several leadership roles in that organization for more than 10 years, 
including 
president from 1987-1989. 

Bob Duncan has been actively involved in such organizations as Hunters for the 
Hungry and Return to Nature. He is respected among wildlife professionals 
nationally
 and among sportsman and conservation groups such as the National Wild Turkey
 Federation, the Virginia Deer Hunters Association and many others. 

Over the course of his career he has had approximately 50 technical and popular
 publications in journals and magazines and professional proceedings. In 2002, 
he 
was the recipient of the prestigious Leonard Lee Rue III Natural Resource 
Stewardship
 Award presented by Return to Nature "in recognition of significant 
contributions and 
unselfish endeavors while striving to execute the established program 
objectives of 
helping Virginia's students develop a meaningful and lasting appreciation of 
the natural 
environment."

He has also been given the Wildlife Conservationist of the Year Award, in 1991, 
and 
the Jim McDonough Award, in 1989, by the Virginia Wildlife Federation, and the 
Wildlife 
Professional Award, in 1989, by the Virginia Chapter of The Wildlife Society.

His knowledge of wildlife disease issues led to his being asked to serve on the 
Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study (SCWDS) which was founded in 
1957 by the Southeastern fish and wildlife directors. He has served on the 
steering 
committee for SCWDS from 1986 to the present. He served as chairman of that 
organization from 1997 until 2007, and during that last year spearheaded the 
50th
 anniversary celebration of the group. 

Bob Duncan will take over the role of Executive Director effective February 10, 
2008, 
from Acting Director Mike Bise. Bise is the former Chief of Law Enforcement for 
VDGIF
who will be retiring.
 
It is the mission of the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries to 
maintain 
optimum populations of all species to serve the needs of the Commonwealth; to 
provide 
opportunity for all to enjoy wildlife, inland fish, boating, and related 
outdoor recreation;
 and to promote safety for persons and property in connection with these 
outdoor 
activities. For more information on VDGIF, visit the Department's Web site at 
www.dgif.virginia.gov.