The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recently named 17-year Service veteran Michael J. Johnson as the new chief of the Division of Bird Habitat Conservation, according to Assistant Director for Migratory Birds Paul Schmidt.
"The Service is pleased to have Mike assume this critical position in Service management," Schmidt said. "His extensive background in wetlands restoration and waterfowl biology, as well as a wealth of experience working with private landowners have and will continue to be a great asset to the Service."
The Service coordinates the North American Waterfowl Management Plan, which uses regional and species-specific Joint Ventures to create public/private partnerships to restore and conserve wetland habitats vital to migratory waterfowl. As chief of the Division of Bird Habitat Conservation, Johnson will also serve on the Trinational Plan Committee, which oversees the work of 14 such joint ventures around the United States. Johnson will also oversee grant programs administered under the North American Wetland Conservation Act and Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act. These two highly successful matching grants programs provide millions of dollars annually to partnerships throughout North America and Latin America for migratory bird habitat conservation.
"I look forward to working with conservation partners from Alaska to Argentina to continue to develop on-the-ground partnerships that conserve wetland habitats for people as well as for migratory birds," said Johnson.
Johnson received a degree in wildlife management and biology from the University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point in 1980 and a masters degree in natural resource management from that same university in 1984. He began his career with the Service in 1983 as a biological technician working on national wildlife refuges in Illinois, and then held positions at University Cooperative Wildlife Research Units in Wisconsin, Wyoming, and Arizona, and at the Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center in Jamestown, North Dakota.
Johnson briefly left the Service to work for Ducks Unlimited as a waterfowl biologist in Illinois. He returned to the Service in 1992 as a wildlife biologist at the Chicago Field Office, where he focused on habitat conservation projects on private lands, reviewed U.S. Army Corps of Engineers permits for wetland actions, and worked with local communities on watershed planning. In 1999, Johnson joined the Services Division of Fisheries and Habitat Conservation as a wildlife biologist, focusing on the Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program and the Coastal Program. In 2004, he was hired to be the Deputy Chief of the Division of Bird Habitat Conservation.
Johnson fills a position previously held by David A. Smith, who retired from the Service in February 2007. For 10 years, Smith guided the Divisions bird habitat conservation programs, which have helped to conserve millions of acres across North America and the Western Hemisphere for the benefit of waterfowl and other priority migratory bird species.
For more information on the Services role in bird habitat conservation, please see http://birdhabitat.fws.gov.
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