Governor Walker Announces Board of Fish and Game Appointments

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

No.. 16-06

Contact: Katie Marquette, Press Secretary – (907) 465-5801 Aileen Cole, Deputy Press Secretary – (907) 465-3985

February 2, 2016 JUNEAU – Governor Bill Walker announced his most recent appointments to the Boards of Fish and Game today. Alan Cain, Israel Payton, and Robert Ruffner will join the Alaska Board of Fisheries, which sets regulations and policy related to the state’s fishery resources.

Mr. Cain will replace Robert Mumford of Anchorage who intends to resign from the board effective March 14, 2016, following conclusion of the board’s current meeting cycle. “I am pleased to appoint Alan Cain, Israel Payton, and Robert Ruffner to the Alaska Board of Fisheries,” said Governor Walker. “Alaska’s fisheries are enjoyed by many in our state, and the experience these three men bring to the board will ensure this resource is managed for the maximum benefit of Alaskans. I also thank Robert Mumford and Fritz Johnson for serving on the Board of Fish. Mr. Johnson’s expertise has proven invaluable, and I hope to utilize him in a different capacity going forward.”

Alan Cain of Anchorage is a natural resources enforcement advisor and trainer, with 40 years of experience protecting Alaska’s fish and game resources as an Alaska Wildlife Trooper, criminal justice planner, and private contractor. During that time, he spent 15 years as an enforcement advisor to the Alaska Board of Fisheries. In this role, Mr. Cain worked closely with the Alaska Department of Law, board members, and the public to develop clear and enforceable regulations for the Alaska Board of Fisheries.

Israel Payton was raised in Skwentna, and grew up harvesting fish and game, and living a subsistence life. Currently a resident of Wasilla and salesman for Airframes Alaska, Mr. Payton worked as a hunting and fishing guide in Southcentral and Western Alaska for nearly 20 years. Additionally, he is a member of the Mat-Su Fish and Game Advisory Committee, and actively participates in Board of Fish and Game meetings.

Robert Ruffner of Soldotna is an Environmental Scientist for the non-profit Kenai Watershed Forum. In that capacity, Mr. Ruffner works with local governments, user groups, businesses, and other stakeholders to promote the economic and ecological health of the region’s rivers and streams. He is a member of the Soldotna Chamber of Commerce, the Kenai Peninsula Borough Planning Commission, and the North Pacific Anadromous Fish Commission Advisory Panel. Mr. Ruffner holds a bachelor’s degree in Geology from the University of Minnesota and has worked for habitat conservation of anadromous fish since 1996.

Governor Walker also appointed Guy Trimmingham and reappointed Nathan Turner to the Alaska Board of Game. The board’s mission is to set policy related to the management of the Alaska’s wildlife resources.

“Alaskans have such a unique relationship with the state’s wildlife resources, proper management of our game is absolutely critical,” said Governor Walker. “Guy Trimmingham and Nathan Turner have both spent decades in the Alaska outdoors, and bring a wealth of knowledge to the Board of Game.”

A life-long resident of Hope, Guy Trimmingham guided hunters on the Alaska Peninsula, the Alaska and Chugach Mountain Ranges, the Kenai and Talkeetna Mountains, and in Kodiak for nearly 30 years. While being an active hunter himself, Mr. Trimmingham also appreciates the value of balancing certain non-consumptive uses along with the more traditional ones. He has worked for over 20 years as an instrumentation, electrical, and fire and gas specialist for Udelhoven and now BP Alaska. Mr. Trimmingham has served on the Kenai Peninsula Fishery Subsistence Board, and is a 35-year member of the Hope Village Council.

Nathan Turner of Nenana has been a wilderness trapper for 26 years, and a registered hunting guide for the past 16 years. He and his family live remotely in the Kantishna and Nowitna River areas, earning their living through gathering, gardening, subsistence hunting and fishing, and big game guiding. Mr. Turner previously served on the Alaska Professional Hunters Association Board of Directors, and was appointed to the Alaska Board of Game in 2010. The Alaska Board of Fisheries and the Alaska Board of Game each consist of seven members serving three-year terms. Members are appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Alaska Legislature.