When Bob Duncan took over as director of the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries in February, he faced many of the same challenges game department directors nationwide are up against: declining revenue, fewer hunters and fishermen buying licenses, surging prices on everything from fuel to fish food to seed.

In short, the money to carry out the department's mission is drying up at a time when cost of doing business is mounting.

Duncan's task is made even more complicated by the recent history of the department. The previous director was fired after 13 months. The one before that was charged, along with two other DGIF officials, of felony embezzlement relating to a state-funded safari junket to Africa. Those charges eventually were dismissed, but the damage to the agency's credibility was done.

Duncan talked to the Times-Dispatch about the challenges of shoring up the department's financial future while restoring the public trust.

Q: What was the first order of business when you took over as director?

A: To provide information. Just given all that we've been through as an agency, I felt like the employees needed some assurance as to how things are going and the direction we're going. I think it was important for them to ask questions.

I do a set of notes every couple of weeks or so that I write to all the employees of the agency. I call it "The Trapline." It's just my way to talk very plainly about the various issues, what we're involved with and what we're doing. I think internal communications and communications with our constituents are critically important. [The goal is] gaining back some support from people who had given it freely in the past. I think we have to kind of earn our way back to that support in the future.

Q: To that end, I've read that you've crisscrossed the state, meeting with different sportsmen's groups as well as all the DGIF's regional offices.

A: I've put 7,000 miles on the car since I started. I think I've met with everybody but the Virginia Hairdressers Association. I've met with taxidermists, state and local chapters of National Wild Turkey Federation, Virginia Bowhunters Association. I can't even name them all.

Q: The DGIF budget for fiscal 2008-2009 is $51.3 million. Will that be enough to do everything you want to do?

A: Funding is . . . our biggest challenge. One of the first things I felt strongly we needed to do is we need to rethink a lot of the things we do relative to the costs of those things and look for every possible way to save money and stretch the sportsmen's dollar. Everybody recognizes that the very first step, before we go and ask somebody for some help, is to demonstrate that we're doing everything possible to help ourselves using all the available means.

Q: Has there been progress on finding new ways to fund department initiatives?

A: The first order of business is triage. Let's stop the bleeding in terms of spending money we don't need to spend. I think that will be a necessary prelude to having real-world discussion to say, "OK, we're doing everything possible we know to do to save money, and so when it comes to our dam repairs, for instance, we've got to have some help." [We] will be spending more time in the future trying to develop ideas for new revenue streams. That's got to happen.

Q: Possible ideas?

A: We're going to be spending more time looking at [things such as], "Do we issue a wildlife management area stamp or a habitat stamp?" We've got to come up with something that allows more people who enjoy what we do and benefit from what we do. We've got to get all those people involved in helping this initiative.

Q: The hound-hunting survey and the anticipated recommendations of the citizen-stakeholder group have generated a lot of interest through the commonwealth. Any thoughts on how it will play out?

A: I do have to believe that somewhere in there, there's going to be some emphasis placed on educational outreach. I think there's so much that's being discussed and so many issues being brought forth, that I can't believe there won't be the need for us to do some major work in terms of educating folks, whether it's people moving to Virginia or people that are already here or people that participate in hunting -- educating people about the issues and about the problems perceived and real.

I don't know what will come out of it. I've tried to keep my fingers out of it because it's important to let the citizens group do their work and bring that forward.