The agency’s first female director took the helm in 2024, and moves on immediately to a newly created job at Gov. Mark Gordon’s office.
By Mike Koshmrl, WyoFile
Angi Bruce, who led the Wyoming Game and Fish Department for two years, resigned from her post effective immediately Friday and is going to work for outgoing Gov. Mark Gordon, whose term ends in January.
The governor tapped Bruce for the job in 2024. After 4 p.m. Friday, his office announced her resignation and appointment to a new job titled “director of special policy initiatives.” She begins the position Monday.
The governor’s five-sentence statement did not offer an explanation for the sudden change. Amy Edmonds, a spokesperson for the governor, said Friday that she could not discuss the reason for the transition because it’s a personnel matter.
“Governor Gordon thanks Bruce for her work as director and looks forward to continuing to work with her,” a news release from Gordon’s office stated.
Eric Wiltanger, currently Game and Fish’s deputy director, has been named interim director.
Bruce did not immediately respond to a phone call requesting an interview on Friday afternoon.
At the time of her hire, Bruce earned plaudits for becoming the first woman to rise to the director role at the Wyoming Game and Fish Department. She was also one of the rare biologists who climbed the agency ladder to the top. During Bruce’s tenure, Wyoming completed the long-delayed designation of the state’s first pronghorn migration. She helmed the agency as it recovered from global ire over a Sublette County man’s cruel treatment of an injured wolf that he brought into a Daniel bar.
Her tenure, however, was studded by some controversies and marked by a rift between field-level staff and leadership at the agency’s Cheyenne headquarters.
Just last month, Cody Region senior wildlife biologist Tony Mong resigned from his post in protest. In an interview with the Powell Tribune, he called the location of the Wyoming State Shooting Complex the final straw in his decision. The 3-square-mile complex was built on “crucial” range for mule deer in an area where herds are especially struggling.
Under Bruce’s leadership, Game and Fish declined to conduct a formal environmental review of the site.
Bruce was preceded as director of Game and Fish by Brian Nesvik, who worked the role for seven years being appointed by the Trump administration to direct the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Before that Scott Talbott, who died of pancreatic cancer in 2025, directed the agency for an eight-year stint.
This is a breaking story and may be updated.
WyoFile is an independent nonprofit news organization focused on Wyoming people, places and policy.
