Former Ducks Unlimited President Doug Schoenrock Named Director of Arkansas Game & Fish Commission

Doug Schoenrock (Photo provided by Arkansas Game & Fish Commission)

Doug Schoenrock, a former president of nonprofit conservation group Ducks Unlimited, has been named director of the Arkansas Game & Fish Commission, the commission announced Monday.

He’s set to assume the role in May. Schoenrock replaces Austin Booth, who resigned in January after more than three years as director. Booth has since taken a job as CEO of outdoor lifestyle company Banded Holdings Inc. of Memphis.

Commission members chose Schoenrock as director from a group of candidates with backgrounds in public policy, wildlife conservation, private industry and education.

In a news release, the commission described Schoenrock as a dedicated hunter with many years of experience in conservation and business management. “Doug’s deep understanding of wildlife conservation, coupled with his proven business leadership abilities, makes him the ideal person to lead the agency forward,” J.D. Neeley, chairman of the commission, said in the release. “We are confident that under his guidance, the AGFC will continue its vital work in protecting and managing Arkansas’s diverse fish and wildlife resources.”

Schoenrock began volunteering with Ducks Unlimited in the 1990s and has served on the organization’s national board of directors since 2002. He was president of the organization from 2020 to 2022 and chairman of the board from 2022 to 2024.

The release said he was instrumental in developing conservation strategies, managing large-scale habitat projects and fostering partnerships with stakeholders at Ducks Unlimited. Among his contributions was the launch of a task force to study the feasibility of growing the organization’s Lands Program from 500,000 to 1 million acres conserved annually. He also developed a conservation initiative toward non-consumptive users and corporate philanthropic efforts to expand Ducks Unlimited’s land portfolio.

His professional career began at Sara Lee Corp. of Downers Grove, Illinois, where he worked for more than 20 years in research and development, marketing, mergers and acquisitions, and sales. He later spent 19 years as a senior manager at Savannah Food Co. Inc. of Savannah, Tennessee, with a focus on marketing and sales.

Schoenrock holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in science from the University of Tennessee.

“Arkansas is home to remarkable biodiversity, strong communities and limitless opportunities for outdoor education and recreation,” he said in a statement. “It’s a privilege to help protect and promote this treasured landscape.”