Duane Shroufe, 62, is retiring as Arizona and Game Fish director, a position he held for nearly 20 years.
At a Dec. 8 meeting, he had asked the Game and Fish Commission to end his contract with the agency in March, according to a Game and Fish news release. His original contract had him set to retire in January 2009.
The agency said the commission already has begun a nationwide search for a replacement. The five-member commission selects the director, usually for a 5-year term.
In selecting the new director, commission chairman Mike Golightly of Flagstaff said in a prepared statement: “We intend to set the bar high to meet today’s wildlife and habitat challenges.”
Agency spokesman Tom Cadden gave no specific reason for Shroufe’s early retirement, but added: “He’s accomplished a great deal at the Arizona Game and Fish Department, and he’s looking forward to moving on to other things.”
During Shroufe’s tenure, the department grew from to 650 from 230 employees and saw a fourfold budget increase to $80 million.
In the news release, the agency said Shroufe’s accomplishments included:
• Overseeing establishment in 1990 of the $10 million annual Heritage Fund for wildlife research and habitat protection.
• Helping develop Teaming with Wildlife, a national coalition of groups that support increased public funding for wildlife conservation.
• Leading the effort to move Game and Fish to a new and larger complex on land owned by the agency near the Ben Avery Shooting Range. Game and Fish moved into its new headquarters Nov. 13.
The agency also credited Shroufe with improving customer service. Game and Fish sells hunting and fishing licenses and registers watercraft.
Shroufe started his 40-year career in wildlife management with the Indiana Department of Natural Resources. He hired on as assistant director at Arizona Game and Fish in 1984 and became director in 1989.
Rep. Jerry Weiers, R-12, an avid sportsman, said Shroufe did a lot to make things better for hunters.
“Basically, I hate to see him go,” Weiers said. “Hopefully, we can keep that legacy going with whoever the new director may end up being.”