WYOMING — An interim director has been named to lead the Wyoming Game and Fish Department (WGFD) after former Director Angi Bruce resigned earlier this month.
Deputy Director Eric Wiltanger was appointed to temporarily head the department after six years there. Upon retiring from 20 years of active duty service in the U.S. Air Force, Wiltanger began working with the Wyoming Department of Corrections in 2010. According to a Thursday news release from WGFD, he started with the agency in 2020 as the services division chief. He was appointed as deputy director of internal affairs, his most recent position, in 2024.
“My focus will be to ensure the staff here have the support they need to continue fulfilling our commitment to Wyoming’s wildlife and the public,” Wiltanger said in a statement. “It is also my priority to continue working with our state’s sportsperson community. Their continued involvement and support helps ensure that Game and Fish is able to develop policies and strategies that support wildlife as well as the needs of our hunters and anglers.”
Wiltanger has said that internal stability, fiscal responsibility and collaboration with the public are key priorities as he moves into the new role.
Chief Game Warden Dan Smith will step into the role of interim deputy director. Craig Smith, the deputy chief for the wildlife division, will fill Smith’s position as interim wildlife division chief/chief game warden. This shuffling is the result of Bruce’s sudden resignation from WGFD and appointment as director of special policy initiatives for Gov. Mark Gordon.
