John Patrick “Pat” Fitts, who was the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission’s 18th director and served from 2018-2021, died Wednesday morning in Little Rock. He was 59.
Fitts began his 32-year career with the agency as a fisheries technician, mowing levees and dragging seines at the Joe Hogan State Fish Hatchery in Lonoke, when he was in high school. He briefly left the AGFC to earn a bachelor’s degree in fish and wildlife management from Arkansas Tech University before rejoining the ranks as a fisheries biologist. He later became a game warden and worked his way up from cadet to colonel of enforcement before moving into administration and serving as a deputy director, then agency director.
During his time as a game warden, Fitts was awarded the Life-Saving Award for heroic action in the face of grave danger. He was named Arkansas’s Wildlife Officer of the Year and the Law Enforcement Officer of the Year for the entire Southeast in 2003 by the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies.
AGFC Chief of Staff Chris Racey, who worked alongside Fitts, said that his ability to uplift those around him was a trait that made Fitts one of the most beloved directors he had the pleasure of serving with.
“Pat was a joyful person, and anyone who spent time with him couldn’t help but feel better,” Racey said. “He was super smart, but he was also humble. When he did speak, it was often with intelligence and wit that anyone rarely could disagree with. He will truly be missed.”
That joyful demeanor and steadfast dedication was paramount during one of the agency’s, and country’s, most uncertain times, as Fitts held the reins and guided the efforts of the AGFC through COVID-19 pandemic protocols. He ensured that agency staff remained vigilant toward the cause of conservation and instilled confidence in them that their jobs were important and necessary in a world where layoffs and furloughs were commonplace. When he announced his resignation in December of 2020, the agency had seen a spike in hunting and fishing license sales as a result of the pandemic, and his work to calm employees had laid the groundwork to accommodate the resulting increase in outdoor recreation.
Fitts’ open door policy didn’t apply only to staff of the AGFC. He guided the AGFC’s efforts during the construction and opening of the J.B. and Johnelle Hunt Family Ozark Highlands Nature Center in Springdale, establishing a critical footprint for the agency in the fastest-growing region of The Natural State.
