JACKSON, Wyo. — A longtime Wyoming Game and Fish Department (WGFD) biologist based in the Jackson area has retired after 40 years with the agency.
Wildlife Biologist Gary Fralick began working with WGFD in 1986 after serving in the U.S. Air Force and earning a wildlife biology degree from the University of Montana. His first position with Game and Fish was in Green River as a biologist aide. He also worked in Cheyenne and Buffalo before moving in 1993 to his long-term position as the South Jackson region’s wildlife biologist.
“My career has been filled with adventure, accomplishments, goodwill, and above all, an invincible curiosity,” Fralick said in a statement from WGFD. “It has been an immense pleasure and privilege being an integral part of this agency and serving the people of Wyoming, and one that I continually marvel at to this day.”
During his tenure in the South Jackson region, Fralick played a vital role in the management of the Wyoming Range Mule Deer Herd and the development of the Wyoming Range Mule Deer Initiative. He also launched research on mountain goats in the Snake River Range and moose in the Hoback River Basin. He operated the Greys River check station every fall since 1993 and chronicled three decades of mule deer antler characteristics from hunter harvests.
Fralick was instrumental in Wyoming Game and Fish Commission’s 1990 decision to prohibit private ownership of trophy game animals and the importation of exotic or nonnative wildlife into the state. He was named the Wildlife Society’s Wildlife Professional of the Year in 2013 and WGFD’s Wildlife Division Employee of the Year in 2015.
“Having worked with Gary for over 30 years, I can truly attest that he captures the essence of a field biologist,” WGFD’s Jackson Region Wildlife Supervisor Brad Hovinga said in the news release. “Gary dedicated himself to knowing the habitat, the wildlife, and the people in his biologist district, and has an incredible grasp on wildlife management issues in the Wyoming Range. Those who worked with Gary are better managers because of his willingness to share his knowledge.”
