U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service | Southeast Region News Release

January 30, 2002

Contact:
Megan Durham, 202/208-4131 or 202/208-5634
Elsie Davis, 404/679-7107

Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton today praised the Senate’s confirmation of Steven A. Williams as Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Williams will lead the nation’s primary wildlife conservation agency with more than 7,500 employees and a 2002 budget of $1.27 billion.

“With his extensive background in State wildlife agencies, Steve Williams brings with him the kind of experience and knowledge that will allow him to consult and work cooperatively with the States and our other partners to conserve our nation’s fish and wildlife,” Norton said.

“Americans care deeply about fish and wildlife,” Williams said. “I am dedicated to continuing our nation’s long tradition of conservation and to assuring the future of our wildlife heritage for our children.”

“I am honored to have been chosen to lead the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The Service faces many challenges, but it has the great asset of a dedicated and talented staff,” Williams said. “I look forward to strengthening our partnerships and finding common sense approaches to conservation issues.”

Williams has been Secretary of the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks since 1995. His former positions include Deputy Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Game Commission from 1992-1995; Assistant Director for Wildlife for the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife from 1989-1992; and a wildlife biologist specializing in research and management for white-tailed deer for the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife from 1985-89. He served as a graduate teaching assistant at The Pennsylvania State University from 1981-85, working on wildlife habitat analysis, and also worked as a graduate teaching assistant at the University of North Dakota from 1979-81.

Williams earned a doctorate in forest resources at Pennsylvania State University, University Park; a master of science degree from the University of North Dakota at Grand Forks; and a bachelor’s degree in environmental resource management, also from Pennsylvania State University. He is a member of the International Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, the Wildlife Society, and other professional and conservation organizations.

By law, the Director of the Fish and Wildlife Service must have a scientific education as well as experience in fisheries and wildlife management. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting, and enhancing fish, wildlife, and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages the 94-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System and enforces federal wildlife laws, administers the Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores nationally significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat, 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 of fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies.

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Steven A. Williams Confirmed as Director of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service