The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced today the selection of Susan White as the new co-manager of the Papahnaumokukea Marine National Monument. Mrs. White will share management duties with other co-managers from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the State of Hawaii.
"Susans great experience in marine conservation issues and her varied experience with the Service will ensure that she will be an excellent addition to the Monument management team," said Ren Lohoefener, director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services Pacific Region.
As the new co-manager for the Service, White will work closely with the other Monument co-trustees to develop policy, implement regulations, and coordinate technical activities related to Service programs. She will be responsible for planning, leading, and administering two National Wildlife Refuges as part of the Monument operation with international, national, and local management plans, policies, and prescribed objectives.
Mrs. White was born in Okinawa, Japan, and raised in suburban Detroit. She has earned two Bachelor of Science degrees in marine biology and earth science with a concentration in oceanography from Central Michigan University. She also holds a teaching certificate in secondary education, and has completed coursework toward her masters in public administration from Florida Gulf Coast University.
Mrs. Whites early work began as a secondary science teacher in Michigan before entering the realm of conservation work. In 1989, she began work as the manager of the Saba Marine Park located in the Dutch West Indies. After 5 years at Saba, she moved on to becoming a public affairs specialist for various organizations such as The Nature Conservancy, the Center for Marine Conservation, and the World Wildlife Fund. In this position, she developed and implemented public advocacy and outreach programs for enhanced marine protection.
In 1997, she began her career with the Fish and Wildlife Service as the marine biologist for the National Key Deer Refuge in Florida. After 3 years she moved on to become the national coral reef and marine resources coordinator in Arlington, Virginia, where she played a key role with the Service and the Department of the Interior in the implementation of Executive orders on coral reef protection and marine protected areas. She also served as the Interior staff contact to the National Commission on Ocean Policy.
Since 2002, Mrs. White has served as the deputy project leader for J.N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge in Sanibel, Florida, and later as the deputy refuge supervisor for 28 Florida refuges.
"I am thrilled to accept this responsibility at the Monument, and my family and I look forward to becoming part of the Hawaiian community," said Susan White. "Being part of this unique collaboration is exciting; and I am humbled and honored to be given the opportunity to help conserve this exceptional piece of the world with our State, NOAA, Native Hawaiian, and community partners."
On June 15, 2006, President Bush signed a proclamation creating the Papahnaumokukea Marine National Monument. It is the single largest conservation area conservation area
A conservation area is a type of national wildlife refuge that consists primarily or entirely of conservation easements on private lands. These conservation easements support private landowner efforts to protect important habitat for fish and wildlife and major migration corridors while helping to keep agricultural lands in production.
Learn more about conservation area under U.S. jurisdiction, and the largest marine conservation area in the world. It encompasses 137,792 square miles of the Pacific Ocean - an area larger than all the countrys national parks combined - and is home to over 7,000 marine species, one quarter of which are found only in the Hawaiian Archipelago.
Mrs. White is expected to begin work in July. She will be accompanied by her husband David and her 12-year old son Ben, along with several dogs and a cat.
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 547 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 69 national fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resources 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 and Native American tribal 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.
