After 13 years serving as wildlife biologist at several western Oklahoma wildlife management areas, Scott Parry has been named Northwest Region supervisor in the Wildlife Division of the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation.
In his new role, Parry will oversee the Department's wildlife conservation and management activities and staff in the northwestern 11 counties in Oklahoma. He takes over for Steve Conrady, who retired in November.
Parry is no stranger to the 11-county Northwest Region. He was raised in Vici and has enjoyed hunting and fishing for as long as he can remember. "I always felt fortunate to grow up with a patient dad willing to take me along on his hunting and fishing outings and spend the time to teach me a large amount of what I know about these activities."
The Northwest Region offers Oklahoma's outdoor fans varied opportunities for hunting and fishing. The region boasts several of the Wildlife Department's larger wildlife management areas: Cooper, Beaver River, Canton, Cimarron Hills and Cimarron Bluff.
The Wildlife Division is among five operational units in the Wildlife Department. The other units are Fisheries, Information and Education, Administration and Law Enforcement. The Wildlife Division is organized into five regions across Oklahoma, each of which is overseen by a regional supervisor. The division is responsible for wildlife research and management activities on more than 1.6 million acres in about 90 wildlife management areas across the state.
Parry will be involved in planning, organizing and directing short- and long-term wildlife management programs in his region. He will conduct public meetings as necessary, and make presentations and offer technical advice to sportsmen, clubs and other groups.
He earned a bachelor's degree in biology with a wildlife management emphasis from Oklahoma State University. In December 1993, Parry began his association with the Wildlife Department as a contract quail research technician on the original quail telemetry study at Packsaddle WMA. In 1998, he was hired as a wildlife technician for Hackberry Flat WMA in southwestern Oklahoma.
"By this time, I had learned that our WMAs across the state were varied, and each has qualities about them that make them interesting in their own right. Hackberry Flat WMA was certainly no exception."
Three years later, Parry became area biologist at Spavinaw and Oologah WMAs in northeastern Oklahoma. "Being raised and spending most of my time in western Oklahoma, this was a big change for me."
In 2003, Parry transferred back to western Oklahoma to become wildlife biologist for Ellis County, Black Kettle and Packsaddle WMAs. He began serving as Northwest Region wildlife supervisor this past January.
Parry volunteers as assistant fire chief with the Carmargo Volunteer Fire Department and serves as a Vici-Camargo EMS First Responder. He and his wife of 21 years have three children and reside in Camargo. Occasionally he performs as a drummer in a Woodward area band, a skill he developed with his high school band.
The new regional supervisor urges all sportsmen and sportswomen to get out and enjoy the year-round hunting and fishing opportunities in the Northwest Region. For more information, call the regional office in Woodward at (580) 254-9173.
The mission of the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation is the management of Oklahoma's wildlife resources and habitat to provide scientific, educational, aesthetic, economic and recreational benefits for present and future generations of hunters, anglers and others who appreciate wildlife.
News Contacts: Don P. Brown, donald.brown@odwc.ok.gov
Micah Holmes, micah.holmes@odwc.ok.gov
Website: wildlifedepartment.com
Telephone: (405) 521-4632
This program receives federal assistance from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and thus prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, disability, age and sex (gender) pursuant to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (as amended), Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and Title II of the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990. To request an accommodation or informational material in an alternative format, contact Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation, (405) 521-3851. If you believe you have been discriminated against in any program, activity or service, contact U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Office for Diversity and Workforce Management, 5275 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041.
