| The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has named Daniel W. Frisk, of Vass, North Carolina, as manager of the Pee Dee National Wildlife Refuge located near Wadesboro in the northwest part of the state. According to the Service's Southeast Regional Director, Sam D. Hamilton, Frisk has spent the past 10 years working in wildlife-related positions in the Southeast. He comes to Pee Dee National Wildlife Refuge from the U.S. Army base at Fort Bragg, near Fayetteville, North Carolina, where he served as a wildlife biologist . |
Hamilton noted that Frisk brings to the Service some valuable wildlife conservation experience and impressive credentials. He holds a bachelor's degree in zoology from Northern Michigan University and a masters degree in wildlife biology from Murray State University.
During his six years at Fort Bragg, he spent much of his time working on the recovery and management of the endangered red-cockaded woodpecker. He was also heavily involved there in the implementation of wildlife and plant habitat enhancement, forest management and ecosystem management projects.
While at Fort Bragg, Frisk also chaired the base's habitat restoration working group -- an interdisciplinary team that was responsible for integrating the areas of endangered wildlife and plant management, game and non-game wildlife management, timber management, cultural resources, military training and public use recreation.
During his career, Frisk has, in addition, spent four years conducting research on bald eagles in Kentucky and Tennessee. His research focused on nest site selection and productivity of bald eagle nests as it relates to human disturbance.
Prior to becoming a wildlife biologist, Frisk served an 11-years stint as an U.S. Army engineer officer. During this time, he commanded a combat engineer company and served in several key Army staff positions. Frisk is a native of Michigan and grew up in White Pine, a small copper mining town in the western part of the state's Upper Peninsula. He is married to his high school sweetheart, the former Sheila Keto. They have a 21-year-old daughter, Jamie, and 16-year-old son, Joshua. Frisk's hobbies include hunting, fishing, hiking, bird watching, and canoeing.
Frisk noted that he is proud to be among the ranks of refuge managers within the Fish and Wildlife Service. He said that he feels the foundation of the refuge system is its people and, through positive leadership, he hopes to establish at Pee Dee National Wildlife Refuge the atmosphere necessary to provide quality wildlife management and public outreach.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting, and enhancing fish and wildlife and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages the 93-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System comprised of more than 500 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands, and other special management areas. It also operates 66 national fish hatcheries and 78 Ecological Services field stations. The agency enforces Federal wildlife laws, administers the Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores nationally significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign governments with their conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Aid program that distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies.
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Release #: R99-010
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