Austin Booth, director of the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, attends an event in Little Rock on June 19, 2024. (Mary Hennigan/Arkansas Advocate)
Arkansas Game and Fish Commission Director Austin Booth announced his resignation Thursday during the wildlife agency’s regular monthly meeting.
Booth has held the position since June 2021, and his resignation is effective Jan. 4.
“For some time now, I have been wrestling with the question of whether I am living up to the most consequential, abiding, important, impactful calling that I have in my life second to faith in Christ, and that is being a husband and a father,” Booth said upon adjournment of an executive session in which commissioners accepted his resignation.
“Over the past three years I have balanced that calling with one that I take incredibly seriously, and that is to be the director of the Game and Fish Commission,” he said. “However, maintaining this balance not only comes in the wake of 13 years of public service, but is also becoming increasingly difficult as my kids, who I adore, become older.”
Booth previously served as a captain in the United States Marine Corps. Before becoming AGFC’s director, he worked as the chief of staff and chief financial officer at the Arkansas Department of Veterans Affairs, according to a release from the AGFC.
On Thursday, Booth thanked mentors, staff members and former commissioners who influenced his directorship in an emotional speech in Mountain View.
“[Former commissioners] made this journey fun, and anytime I needed a second, third or 455th opinion, I would always be able to get it from them,” Booth said.
Booth said he will be pursuing a job in the private sector, though he didn’t provide further details. His salary upon adjournment was $160,269, according to the Arkansas Transparency website.
The role of the AGFC director includes coordinating with the general public, commission staff and state lawmakers.
Setting a budget for the AGFC was a primary reason Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders called a special legislative session earlier this year. Lawmakers were unable to agree on parameters of a maximum salary for the agency’s director during the fiscal session and failed to pass a budget, putting the future of the agency’s services in limbo.
Dozens of services would cease if Arkansas lawmakers fail to pass Game and Fish budget
Game and Fish provides dozens of services to Arkansans such as obtaining a fishing permit, hunting or boating license. Game wardens enforce laws on the state’s waterways and hunting regulations and provide protection to endangered species. Staff are also currently conducting their largest infrastructure project in history at Lake Conway.
“I have loved being here, I will let history and the next director say whether I’ve left it better than I found it. I do know that y’all have left me better than I was three and a half years ago,” Booth said.
The commission will develop the procedure for the next director search in the coming weeks, spokesperson Keith Stephens said Thursday afternoon.
Commission Chair J.D. Neeley shared positive sentiments about Booth’s leadership and said he has left a blueprint for the agency to pursue future conservation efforts.
“There’s a saying that iron sharpens iron — your leadership has taken a tremendously skilled staff and strengthened their ability to put habitat and people first,” Neeley said. “Your motto of ‘See it in the field’ has meant that you’ve rolled up your sleeves, that you’ve led by example. With that, you’re a true servant leader.”
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