John Baughman

Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2013

John Baughman was born August 26, 1950, in Pittsburgh, PA.  He lived in West Virginia, Montana and Colorado where he received his BS degree in Fisheries Science in 1972 from Colorado State University and a Masters degree in Zoology from the University of Wyoming in 1974.  Upon graduation, he went to work for the Wyoming Game and Fish Department as the Wildlife Planner.  From 1976 to 1995, John worked as Reservoir Research Supervisor, Fisheries Management Coordinator and then Assistant Chief of the Fisheries Division.  In 1995 John became Deputy Director of the Department and then served as Director from 1996 to 2002.
 
Under John’s leadership the Department developed and implemented the Hunting and Fishing Expo, the Private Lands/Public Wildlife program, the “Access Yes” program, the first alternative funding programs e.g. the Wildlife Heritage Foundation and Game and Fish credit cards and the Lifetime hunting and fishing licenses.
 
Following his game and fish career, John served as Executive Vice President of the International Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies.   In that capacity, he and his staff worked nationally on the Farm Bill, Wallop-Breaux Reauthorization, a new transportation bill with major funding to reduce wildlife/vehicle collisions, continued and enhanced funding for state wildlife grants, and worked with Boone and Crockett to develop and implement concept of National Conservation Leadership Institute.
 
John saw affiliation with professional and other like-minded conservation groups as important to one's character building and career development. In that regard, he during his career, he has been a member of the American Fisheries Society (AFS), past president of the Colorado-Wyoming Chapter of AFS,  a lifetime member of Trout Unlimited, Wyoming Wildlife Federation, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Wild Sheep Foundation, the Wyoming Wild Sheep Foundation and a member of the Boone and Crocket Club. He has authored one book (now in its second edition) and has over 100 popular, semi-technical and professional articles and presentations to his credit.  He served as the president of the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (WAFWA), chaired WAFWA's Awards and Recognition Committee, and served on the Executive Committee.
 
On the national scene, he served as vice-chair of the Legislative and Federal Budget Committee, chaired the Threatened and Endangered Species Committee, and the Wildlife Damage Management Committee.  He is past-chair of the International Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (Iafwa) Committee on National Grants and served on IAFWA's Executive Committee.
 
John and his wife, Demity, retired in 2006 and live in Cody, Wyoming.  

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