Wyoming Game and Fish commissioner, Ashlee Lundvall, was all smiles as she was unanimously elected president during their March meeting in Cody, not far from her home west of Ralston.

“I am very humbled,” she said in a Tuesday interview. “It was definitely an honor. And then, as soon as the realization [of being elected president] kicked in, I knew it was time to get down to business.”

Lundvall is in her fifth year on the commission, appointed in 2021 by Gov. Mark Gordon.

“I threw my hat in the ring and turned my application in and couldn’t be more excited and more honored to be nominated,” Lundvall said at the time.

By entering the political ring, Lundvall went against her natural inclination of now wanting to enter the political arena.

“I used to not be a huge fan of anything to do with politics,” she said. “But what I’m finding out is, that’s where the real decisions are made and where real differences can be made.”

Before her appointment to the commission, Lundvall regularly looked for opportunities to work with conservation on a large scale, believing there is healing in the outdoors — something she wants to share with others. Outside of the commission, she is a motivational speaker, outdoor writer and disability advocate. She also has a Wyoming real estate license and works for DBW Realty.

“I’m no one special. I’m just another person that wanted to get involved and was given that opportunity and was able to take it at the time,” she said.

She brought to the commission a history of working with conservation groups that help get more people outside — including those with disabilities.

Lundvall, who is confined to a wheelchair, has never let her disability stop her from enjoying the great outdoors. An accident while doing farm chores changed her life forever.

While on a trip to Wyoming to attend an all-women’s camp near Cody, Lundvall had a tragic accident. On the morning of Aug. 2, 1999, the campers prepared to go backpacking. But Lundvall had some morning chores to take care of, so she woke early and headed to the lower corrals to feed horses and cattle. She had climbed up a hay rack to cut open a bale when she lost her balance.

“I ended up landing on the handle of the pitchfork that I’d been using,” Lundvall said.

She broke her back, severely damaging her spinal cord. She was rushed to Cody Regional Health, where she was stabilized before being moved to St. Vincent Healthcare in Billings.

“It’s a call that no parent ever wants to get,” she said.

Lundvall stayed in Billings for weeks before being moved back to her home town of Indianapolis, Indiana, for rehabilitation. She was permanently paralyzed and has been in a wheelchair for the past quarter century.

Eventually she moved back to Wyoming, married Russ Lundvall and the two have a daughter, Addison, who is a sophomore at Cody High School. She may be Madam President at the Commission, but at home she’s just mom.

Tuesday, during the school district’s spring break, Lundvall and her daughter were visiting colleges in Georgia.

Lundvall is determined to set a good example for Addison and all who come after her. She is one of 3 women to serve as president since the early 2000s when Linda Fleming, the first female president for the Game and Fish Commission, led the group. This comes as Director Angi Bruce is serving as the first woman to lead the Game and Fish Department.

“It’s definitely a proud moment to be sitting there with Director Bruce and knowing she’s the first woman in that spot, and then sitting there beside her as president of the commission. It’s just a great representation of strong women in leadership in Wyoming and the history of that, and so it’s an honor to serve next to her,” said Lundvall.

One lesson she wants to convey is to not be afraid of hard work and to be willing to take the good with the bad as she leads.

“I want people to engage with me and engage with the other commissioners. I know they would feel the same. And we need that feedback, whether it’s positive or negative,” she said. “Constructive criticism is always good. And so I just encourage people to continue to stay involved in that process.”

While Lundvall considers it an honor to be on the commission, it is a lot of work. It’s not a paid position; all commissioners are volunteers. They’re all there for one reason, she said. “They’re committed to the state of Wyoming, and its wildlife and its wild places.”

The politics of guiding conservation efforts, protecting endangered, threatened and species of special concern, outdoor sports access rights and a budget of more than $90 million can be tough at times.

Her nomination for a six-year term put her right in the thick of the decision-making process for her greatest passion. But she wasn’t looking to move too fast in her first years on the commission.

“I want to get in there and hear both sides of the issues and try to educate myself as much as possible. It’s not going to be as cut and dried as people might think,” Lundvall said at the time of her nomination to the commission.

The learning curve was steep at first, but five years later she is confident to lead.

“I don’t think I would have been prepared for it until now,” she said. “It’s been an amazing learning opportunity. At the very beginning, it was definitely overwhelming and disconcerting, and I didn’t feel like I knew what was going on, but luckily, I was introduced to the right people and learned very quickly that there’s a wealth of knowledge within the Game and Fish Department, and the [non-governmental organizations] that work closely with them.”

She continued to grow throughout the years, gaining confidence and learning to listen to the public, especially within her own region.

Ashlee and her family are avid hunters. Ashlee enjoys hunting elk and continues to refine her fly fishing skills.

It’s a big change from how she grew up. She’s not from a hunting family and, as a young woman, had bought into negative stereotypes.

“Any negative stereotypes that I believed were from lack of education,” Lundvall said. “When I met and married a young man from Wyoming and moved out here, I quickly realized hunters are some of the best conservationists in the world. They don’t want to see animals wiped out and destroyed. They want to see them properly managed. They want to see them flourish.”

Lundvall has been a great addition to the commission, said Game and Fish Director Angi Bruce.

“Ashlee is extremely approachable. She’s a very kind person who really wants to to get things right and do good for Wyoming,” Bruce said. “It’s very much in her blood, and you can see that she’s extremely professional.”

One controversial issue Lundvall will have to deal with under her presidency is the discussion on landowner licenses. The debate continues and should be on the commission agenda for the July or September meeting.

“If you go back and look at her testimony or her discussion on the topic at the November commission meeting, she was very open in saying, ‘we really want to hear from the public. We want to gather all the data. We want to hear what the public wants us to do on it,’” Bruce said. “She is very open in listening to her constituents ... she’s very much involved. She goes to local regional meetings and the local season setting meetings in order to hear directly, not only from our staff, but from those hunters and anglers locally.”

Like Bruce, working in a job traditionally held by men has been an inspiration to those who will come after them. Yet, Lundvall doesn’t look at her position as a battle of the sexes; only as one commissioner to another or one outdoors sportsperson to another. She’s ready to handle anything thrown her way, Bruce said.

“I’ve seen her in action, so I’m very optimistic that she’ll continue that role and really help guide the commission in those difficult decisions,” Bruce said.

Commissioner John Masterson (District 7) was the first to address the new president.

“Let the records show that I’m the first one who got to say ‘madam president,’” Masterson said while responding to a list of state legislative challenges presented by Bruce.

Lundvall chuckled while flashing her big, honest smile.

The election

Mark Jolovich was elected vice president for a second term during the meeting, having originally thrown his hat in the ring after a lifetime of enjoying the outdoors of Wyoming. He was appointed to represent District 1 on the commission in 2021, which encompasses Platte, Goshen and Laramie counties.  

Even with a lifetime of outdoor experience, Jolovich said in an interview for his commission biography that he was bombarded with information when he started with the commission.

“It’s like fighting a tsunami, but I’m loving every minute of it,” Jolovich said. 

He’s a Wyoming native who lives in Torrington and has owned a water distribution company for nearly three decades with his wife, Becky.

“I’m working on retiring so I can help with Game and Fish projects,” he said. Jolovich was a long-time committee member of the 2Shot Goose Hunt in Torrington. It was there when a committee member from the 2Shot Goose Hunt first approached him about serving on the commission. 

Jolovich has always been involved in the outdoors. He began working on his grandparents’ farm in the summers when he was a kid. It’s where he said he learned how to work. He hunted with his dad before he was old enough to go out on his own. Jolovich felt he had a good sense of what the Wyoming Game and Fish Department does, but he learned of the vastness of the work when appointed to the commission.

“I want to do all I can and do right by the people of Wyoming and the Game and Fish Department,” Jolovich said. “Being in business for myself for 26 years and being very successful, I’ve learned to watch the bottom line and to treat people right. That’s the way I look at serving on the commission.”

His term expires in March 2027. 

Bruce also welcomed newly appointed Commissioners Bill Mai of Laramie and Fonzy Haskell of Moorcroft to the meeting.