Shane Mahoney, president and CEO of Conservation Visions Inc., received the Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies’ (AFWA) 2026 Lifetime Achievement Award at a September ceremony in Lancaster, Pa. Mahoney has been a leader in wildlife conservation, science and public policy for decades and the honor acknowledges his work in shaping conservation policy and institutions across North America through leadership and advocacy.
AFWA represents North America’s state, provincial and territorial fish and wildlife agencies. It also serves as their collective voice on wildlife conservation, management and policy.
“I have known and worked with Shane for many years,” said Ron Regan, executive director of AFWA. “His professional passion for nature and wildlife, coupled with an insightful intellect, have profoundly shaped fish and wildlife conservation in North America and internationally for more than three decades. Indeed, his thought leadership on a host of contemporary issues, ranging from sustainable use to One Health, is exceptional, and his recognition with this award is well-deserved.”
Mahoney spent 35 years with the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, advancing from field research to senior executive leadership in wildlife, science and sustainable development, before founding Conservation Visions. His social enterprise and environmental think-tank work has since extended across Canada, the United States and internationally, encompassing wildlife science, conservation policy, sustainable use and the relationships among wildlife, people and landscapes.
“Shane has selflessly done the hardest job in this profession for decades: making conservation matter to people who did not yet care,” said Tony Wasley, president and CEO of the Wildlife Management Institute. “He has done it on nearly every continent where wildlife is hunted, and on every question from caribou to the future of the North American Model itself. There is no more fitting recipient.”
Mahoney has authored more than 50 scientific papers and numerous book chapters and has been a prominent voice on the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation, public-trust wildlife management and sustainable use. In 2015, he founded the Wild Harvest Initiative, a first-of-its-kind research program examining the food, economic, social, and ecological benefits that extend from sustainable wild harvest activities, including hunting and fishing.
The AFWA Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes a conservation partner from a non-governmental organization for long-standing contributions to conservation, the mission of state, provincial and territorial fish and wildlife agencies, and the work of AFWA.
