Pete Benjamin, a 13-year veteran of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, is the new Field Supervisor of the Service's Southeast Regional Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. "Not only has he been Assistant Field Supervisor of our Jacksonville, Florida Field Office for six years, he has also served as a staff biologist, giving him perspective on Service programs from both sides of the desk.?
As Field Supervisor of the Raleigh Office, Benjamin directs a staff of 17 people and oversees Ecological Services activities in support of threatened and endangered species, migratory birds, and fishand the ecosystems upon which they depend. Ecological Services is responsible for implementing the Endangered Species Act of 1973, one of the most comprehensive wildlife conservation laws in the world. There are 45 federally-listed species in North Carolina. Ecological Services also restores wetlands and other rare habitats on public and private lands and mitigates or prevents the effects of environmental pollution on wildlife and their habitats.
"I am honored to lead the outstanding team in the Raleigh Field Office,'said Benjamin. "I look forward to working with them and our many state, federal, and community partners to protect the vast and varied fish and wildlife resources in North Carolina.?
In his previous position as Assistant Field Supervisor in the Jacksonville Field Office since 1999, Benjamin supervised a staff of 13 biologists and oversaw several federal programs including the Clean Water Act and federal projects, Habitat Conservation Plans, Farm Bill activities, Partners for Fish and Wildlife, and work involving coastal and marine mammals. Benjamin joined the Jacksonville Field Office staff in 1998 as a senior biologist.
Benjamin began his U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service career in 1991 as a Federal Activities Biologist at the New Jersey Field Office in Pleasantville. Before coming to the Service, he worked with the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, where he was involved with the state's bald eagle reintroduction program. Benjamin also worked with the U.S. Forest Service in Tongass National Forest in southeast Alaska. There, he conducted species surveysand studied human and black bear interactions.
Originally from Dayton, Ohio , Benjamin holds a bachelor's degree in Environmental Biology from Ohio University and a master? s degree in Ecology from Indiana State University. His wife Karen is also a biologist, and she worked as the Environmental Contaminants Specialist for the Jacksonville Field Office. They have a three-year-old daughter, Hannah. Benjamin enjoys woodworking, gardening, and fishing.
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 95-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System, which encompasses 544 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 69 national fish hatcheries, 63 Fish and Wildlife Management offices and 81 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 Assistance program, which distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to State fish and wildlife agencies.
