JACKSON, Wyo. — After 33 years with the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, Jackson-Pinedale Regional Information and Education Specialist Mark Gocke recently retired.
Gocke began his career with Game and Fish as a habitat extension biologist on April 1, 1991. He was one of two biologists hired to launch the new Habitat Extension Program, a partnership between Game and Fish and the Natural Resources Conservation Service that designed to use NRCS and other funding sources to improve wildlife habitat, primarily on private land in Wyoming. Gocke moved to the Jackson-Pinedale Regional Information and Education position in 1995 where he has served since.
In this position, Gocke played a major role in conducting the Department’s education camps at the Whiskey Mountain Conservation Camp facility near Dubois. He has also conducted countless wildlife education programs for youth and adults in the Jackson, Pinedale and Star Valley areas.
Gocke’s career has also been highlighted by his work conveying information to the public through various media outlets on many high-profile wildlife management issues including elk feedgrounds, grizzly bears, wolves, fisheries and aquatic invasive species, sage grouse, wildlife migration and wildlife diseases such as brucellosis and chronic wasting disease.
Gocke may be best known for his contributions to the state’s fish and wildlife resources through his photography. He let his passion for photography shine through his photographs of the state’s wildlife and coverage of the Department’s countless activities. Many of his photos and videos have been featured in various publications, exhibits and presentations across the state.
Gocke was recognized as the Services Division Employee of the Year in 2007, as a member of the Department’s Team of the Year for Wyoming Range Deer in 2010 and received the Peer Recognition Award for the Jackson-Pinedale Region in 2013 . Gocke has also won several awards for his photography and writing from the Association of Conservation Information and the Wyoming Press Association.
Gocke and his wife plan to continue living in Jackson and hope to continue contributing to the Department’s Wyoming Wildlife magazine through his photography and writing.
