Marler, Assistant Director for International, Legislative, and Public Affairs in Washington, D.C. since 1986, will assume his new post in mid-July. He will replace Jim Gritman who retired after a 28-year Federal career.
The North Central Region includes Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, and Wisconsin.
"Sam Marler will be missed in Washington but his experience will be a tremendous asset in the field," Turner said. "In a heavily populated Region with a wealth of natural resources; a large, active, hunting and fishing community; and a wide range of fish and wildlife conservation issues, his background will serve the Fish and Wildlife Service well."
Marler began his Service career in 1977 as an Assistant Regional Director in Denver. Prior to that assignment, he served as Director of Communications for the U.S. Department of the Interior in Washington, D.C. In 1989, Marler received one of the Departments highest career service citations, the Meritorious Service Award.
A native of Rapides Parish, Louisiana, Marler is a graduate of Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge. He served as an officer in the U.S. Marine Corps for five years. He and his wife Susan have three adult sons.
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
