July 4, 2013

Small Game Coordinator Jim Pitman named “Wildlife Biologist of the Year”

PRATT ­– The Midwest Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (MAFWA) recently recognized Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism (KDWPT) small game coordinator Jim Pitman as the 2013 “Wildlife Biologist of the Year.” Pitman was presented the award by KDWPT Assistant Secretary Keith Sexson at the June 27 Kansas Wildlife, Parks and Tourism Commission meeting.

Each year, MAFWA recognizes an individual who has shown an unparalleled initiative toward the better understanding of wildlife and their conservation, and Pitman couldn’t have been a better choice.

“It is a huge honor to be recognized my peers,” said Pitman. “A person's peers are usually the toughest critics, so winning an award from that group is the most meaningful recognition anyone could receive. I'm very appreciative of that recognition and humbled by it.”

Pitman’s most recent endeavor has been developing conservation strategies to address the potential listing of the lesser prairie chicken as a threatened or endangered species by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Pitman is the second KDWPT biologist in recent years to receive this award from MAFWA. In 2011, KDWPT Big Game Program Coordinator Lloyd Fox was also named Wildlife Biologist of the Year.

Comprised of 13 state and 3 provincial Midwest fish and wildlife agencies, MAFWA is an organization that strives to provide a common forum for fish and wildlife agencies to share ideas, information, pool resources, and form action initiatives to better manage and conserve fish and wildlife resources.

For more information on MAFWA and Pitman’s award, visit www.mafwa.org.

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