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A Mountain Home businessman now leads the state agency that manages Arkansas’ fish and wildlife. The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission unanimously elected Rob Finley of Mountain Home as its chairman for the coming fiscal year at its meeting Thursday in Little Rock.
Finley moves up from vice chairman, the post he held over the past year. Commissioner Philip Tappan of Little Rock was elected to take his place as vice chairman.
Finley took the gavel from Anne Marie Doramus of Little Rock, who finished her seven-year term at what was her final meeting with the commission. Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders thanked Doramus in a video message, and the commission awarded her a service sidearm for her service.
As he accepted the role, Finley thanked the commissioners who served before him and compared a seat on the board to stepping into a boxing ring.
“It’s great to be a spectator, but it’s tough to be in the ring,” Finley said. “When the battle is over, it’s very rewarding. You realize there are people you will never please. It’s for the science and the resource.”
Finley has served on the commission since 2020, when Gov. Asa Hutchinson appointed him to the seat once held by Ken Reeves of Harrison. He grew up in the area and graduated from Cotter High School before following his father into the U.S. Air Force.
After his military service, Finley worked in banking for more than a decade. He later started Route 66 Warranty in Mountain Home and founded Cranor’s White River Lodge near Cotter, a trout-fishing lodge and guide service on the Bull Shoals tailwater.
That background has shaped his work on the commission. Last fall, Finley pushed for tighter limits on the state’s trout tailwaters after losses at fish hatcheries, urging caution to protect both the fish and the towns that rely on trout tourism.
The commission also approved more than $5.5 million in boating and fishing access projects across the state Thursday using Arkansas Marine Fuel Tax funds. One project sends money to Baxter County for repairs and upgrades to Cranfield Road, which serves Norfork Lake.
Finley was appointed to a seven-year term on the commission, which runs through 2027. The chairmanship is a separate one-year post the commission fills each June. He and his wife, Nicki, live in Mountain Home and have four children.
