In her new position, Fuller will oversee the Services National Wildlife Refuge System, the North American Waterfowl Management Plan, and migratory bird management and land acquisition programs.
Nita Fuller is a tremendous asset to the Fish and Wildlife Services leadership team, said Director Clark. Her lifelong dedication to natural resources, exceptional management abilities, and experience working at all levels of the agency make her especially qualified for this position.
For the last three years, Fuller has served as Assistant Regional Director for Refuges and Wildlife in the Services Great Lakes-Big Rivers Region. As head of regional refuge and wildlife programs, Fuller oversaw refuge operations throughout eight states: Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois, Missouri, Michigan, Ohio, and Indiana. From 1993 to 1995 she served in the Services Washington headquarters as deputy chief of the Division of Refuges.
Im honored and tremendously excited to accept this new assignment and challenge, said Fuller. I especially look forward to building upon the Fish and Wildlife Services unique network of conservation partnerships to strengthen the National Wildlife Refuge System and the North American Waterfowl Management Plan.
Originally from Idabel, Oklahoma, Fuller began her Service career in 1977 as a wildlife biologist at Wichita Mountains National Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma. From 1979 to 1983, she served as assistant refuge manager for the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge Complex in New Mexico and from 1983 to 1989 as refuge manager and project leader at the Santa Ana and Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuges in south Texas. From 1989 to 1993, Fuller supervised 14 national wildlife refuges in the states of Arizona and New Mexico as an associate manager in the Services Southwest Region.
Fuller was recently recognized as the Professional Conservationist of the Year by the Minnesota Waterfowl Association because of her strong advocacy role in preserving waterfowl and wetlands. She was also a driving force behind the Northern Tallgrass Prairie Habitat Preservation initiative in Minnesota and Iowa and the Prairie Wetlands Learning Center, currently under construction in Fergus Falls, Minn.
Fuller holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Zoology as well as a Masters degree in Wildlife Ecology from Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, Oklahoma.
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 93-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System which encompasses more than 530 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 66 national fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resource offices 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. For further information about the programs and activities of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in the Great Lakes-Big Rivers Region, please visit our home page at: http://midwest.fws.gov
