POLITICO: Zinke appoints Utah wildlife official as FWS deputy director

By Esther Whieldon
06/05/2017 03:20 PM EDT
Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke today appointed Greg Sheehan, the former director of Utah’s Division of Wildlife Resources, to the newly created position of deputy director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Sheehan will help the agency “advance a pro-conservation and more collaborative agenda,” Zinke said in a statement, pointing to Sheehan’s many years of experience and proven record in wildlife service “as well as his organizational management skills.”
POLITICO reported in April that Senate Finance Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) had recommended Sheehan to run the service.
Sheehan, who is a hunter and fisherman and previously worked as a civilian for the Air Force on government contractor issues, said in a statement he looks forward to “helping promote the fish and wildlife resources in America through collaborative partnerships with states, local government, the sportsmen’s community, and others.”
Sheehan is one of several people Zinke has hired in recent months to carry out his policy objectives while he waits for the White House to nominate people to key leadership spots at the agency. The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee is slated to vote Tuesday on President Donald Trump’s nominee for Interior deputy secretary, David Bernhardt.
WHAT’S NEXT: Sheehan will start at the agency in mid-June and will serve as FWS acting director until Trump nominates, and the Senate confirms, a director.
Tags: ,