Leading Conservationist Joins North Carolina Wildlife Federation

Manley Fuller Named Vice President of Conservation Policy

One of the nation’s most effective conservation leaders is returning to his native North Carolina to help lead the North Carolina Wildlife Federation’s conservation initiatives. Manley Fuller has been named NCWF vice president of conservation policy. Fuller leaves the Florida Wildlife Federation (FWF) as its president and CEO, having served in that capacity for over three decades of conservation accomplishments.

Fuller forged a legacy of passionate leadership and advocacy at FWF, advancing the conservation and protection of Florida’s habitat for wildlife, building partnerships and finding common ground. Fuller brings to North Carolina a wealth of nonprofit organizational experience, knowledge, and seasoned leadership.

The recipient of numerous awards, recognitions and appointments during his career, Fuller built an organization at FWF that was able to achieve and advance many important conservation causes including:

• changing Florida’s constitution to prohibit coastal oil and gas drilling;
• providing for a major 20-year state conservation lands acquisition funding;
• providing for tax relief for landowners placing their properties under permanent conservation easements;
• supporting the unification of the State’s fish and wildlife agencies into the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission; and,
• providing limitations on entangling nets in State waters.

Fuller was a leader in successful efforts to expand numerous state parks, wildlife refuges, state forests, and state wildlife management areas. Under his leadership, FWF supported restoration efforts for the Florida Everglades, and other iconic springs and waterways statewide. FWF also spearheaded efforts to build landscape-scale linkages of public and private conservation lands across Florida including the strategic placement of wildlife crossings; championed conservation of marine forage fish and reef fish spawning aggregations and for a ban on importation of deer and other cervids to reduce chronic wasting disease threats in Florida’s wild deer populations.

Prior to taking the helm at FWF, Fuller served five years with the National Wildlife Federation as a wetlands and wildlife specialist in its Southeastern Natural Resources Center based in Raleigh, NC. A graduate of Duke University, where he earned both a B.S. in Zoology and B.A. in History, Fuller earned a M.S. in Wildlife Biology at North Carolina State University. He was born in Lincolnton, NC and grew up in Hickory, NC. He enjoys a variety of outdoor recreational activities, possesses a lifetime North Carolina hunting and fishing license, and looks forward to promoting and protecting North Carolina’s natural heritage.

“I love the Florida Wildlife Federation and will continue to support its critical work as a volunteer, but when the opportunity to work for such an esteemed organization as NCWF was presented, I knew it was time to come home. I am honored to join NCWF’s conservation team,” stated Fuller.

Fuller will work with the North Carolina legislature on issues including marine fisheries reform, climate change and storm resiliency, and natural resource investments as well as the advancement of NCWF’s programs to safeguard wildlife and habitat.

“To use a sports analogy, anytime you have the chance to get a Michael Jordan or Babe Ruth-type player, you go for it,” said NCWF CEO Tim Gestwicki. “Adding Manley to our already stellar wildlife team positions us superbly to accomplish our conservation priorities and deliver the impact North Carolina natural resources deserve.”

Since 1945, North Carolina Wildlife Federation has worked to protect, conserve, and restore all North Carolina wildlife and habitat. Connect with NCWF on Facebook and Twitter or visit ncwf.org