Paul Howard

November 29, 2023

Dear friends,

As late November storms blanket much of Wyoming in snow and we transition to winter, the Outdoor Council is in the midst of its own changes. Our search for the right leader to carry our conservation work into the future has concluded — and we’d love for you to join us in welcoming Carl Fisher as our new executive director!

Carl will bring a wealth of conservation expertise honed over many years and marked by a history of collaboration, advocacy, and innovation. In his most recent role as the long-time executive director of Save Our Canyons, a Utah-based organization, Carl forged alliances with communities and organizations to preserve the natural beauty and wildness in and around the Wasatch Mountains. He has also provided leadership on an array of advisory boards and commissions, including the Salt Lake County Parks and Recreation Advisory Board and Central Wasatch Commission Stakeholders Advisory Council.

It’s no secret that our work isn’t possible without a deep commitment to the mission — and Carl’s passion for protecting public lands and wildlife while empowering people to stand up for the places they love resonates deeply with the values we hold close to our hearts at the Outdoor Council.

Carl is looking forward to deepening the ties he’s formed with Wyoming communities during many visits to his family — his wife hails from Green River and has deep roots in Lander, where Carl and his family will move. In Carl’s words, they’re like salmon swimming upstream to their points of origin, a relocation that leaves Carl “excited to expand my networks and really engage with the Wyoming community.”

Carl regards community as the vital “currency” that allows for an organization’s success. I believe he’ll be right at home in Wyoming and at the Outdoor Council, where one thing is certain: conservation isn’t something one does alone. As Carl puts it, “The real power comes from bringing people together, establishing a foundation of understanding, and then working through whatever challenges that emerge. I really think there’s an opportunity to do a lot better for our environment, but also to do a lot better for one another.”

We’ve been immeasurably lucky in recent years to be led by Lisa McGee, who’s shepherded the Outdoor Council through many highs and lows — always fearlessly, and always with patience and wisdom. With her departure at the end of the year, and with Carl’s tenure beginning, we’re confident that WOC will remain in extremely good hands.

Carl will officially begin in January. Stay tuned for more details about opportunities to connect with him and learn more about his vision for the Outdoor Council.

With eagerness for this exciting new chapter,

Paul Howard
President, Wyoming Outdoor Council Board of Directors
Cheyenne, Wyoming

A message from Paul Howard, president of the Board of Directors.

April 28, 2023

Dear friends,

Today is an inspiring time to be part of the Wyoming Outdoor Council. While we still embody the hardscrabble spirit of our founder Tom Bell and those early days as a home-grown Wyoming conservation group, we’ve also matured as an organization.

We have a strong base of passionate and engaged members, a dedicated group of staff, and a committed board of directors. Most importantly, we continue to bring people together to protect this place we love. Public lands, wildlife, clean air, and clean water have a voice in Wyoming thanks to you.

Much of the Outdoor Council’s progress during the last six years has come under the guidance and leadership of Lisa McGee, our executive director. It’s my bittersweet responsibility to announce that Lisa has decided to step away from WOC later this year.

From intern to executive director, Lisa has been a constant at the Outdoor Council for the last 18 years. Lisa first joined the staff in 2005 as a staff attorney to lead our National Forest work. Over the next decade, she and our partners secured lasting protections for the Wyoming Range and parts of the Shoshone National Forest. She took the helm as director in 2017, the year WOC celebrated our 50th anniversary. She and our board of directors set some ambitious goals around this milestone, most of which we’ll realize by the year’s end.

As Lisa told me, “So few people have the good fortune to work for and grow professionally within an organization whose mission they so deeply believe in. I’m honored to have contributed to the Outdoor Council’s mission over these many years. It’s been a joy, and I know the best is yet to come for Wyoming’s conservation community.”

While her departure will be felt by all of us, Lisa is leaving the organization on solid footing. Our conservation advocates are driving meaningful change to protect the Red Desert and big game migration corridors, support Indigenous-led conservation efforts, and help Wyoming communities respond to climate change. We’ve committed to becoming a more equitable organization where all people and perspectives are respected. We’ve strengthened our fundraising capacity and are about to break ground on our “forever home” in Lander.

I’m grateful that another of Lisa’s lasting contributions will be a well-thought-out transition to her eventual replacement. Lisa will be staying with us through the end of September and we, the board, hope to have a new executive director in place this fall. The board will be conducting an exhaustive search to find a candidate who can fill Lisa’s shoes — no easy task.

Please join me and the entire Wyoming Outdoor Council board of directors in wishing Lisa good fortune with her next endeavors and thanking her for her leadership, service, and friendship through all of these years.

Sincerely,

Paul Howard

President, Wyoming Outdoor Council Board of Directors

Cheyenne, Wyoming