The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recently announced two new appointments to its senior leadership team. Hannibal Bolton and Greg Siekaniec have been named as the new Assistant Directors for Wildlife and Sport Fish restoration and the National Wildlife Refuge System, respectively. The positions are part of the governments Senior Executive Service and have been approved by the Interior Departments Executive Review Board.
"It is my distinct pleasure to announce the appointment of two new members of the leadership team," said Rowan Gould, acting Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. "Both individuals are committed conservationists who will continue to make a difference for fish and wildlife. Please join me in congratulating Hannibal and Greg on their new appointments."
Bolton is a 30-year veteran of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. He previously served as the chief of the Division of Fish & Wildlife Management and Habitat Restoration in the Services headquarters office in Arlington, Virginia. Prior to that he served in several technical fisheries positions as staff biologist, assistant project leader, project leader, and regional fisheries associate manager in Indiana, Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio and Iowa. He also served as the Deputy Assistant Regional Director for the Fisheries Program in the Midwest Region, where he was responsible for policy development and implementation involving fish management conservation activities, as well as tribal and hatchery issues, within the eight-state region. His scope of management encompassed seventeen field stations.
In his new position, Bolton will oversee the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program, which administers federal grant programs that provide hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes and other funding to help states, insular areas and the District of Columbia conserve, protect, and enhance fish, wildlife and their habitats, as well as the hunting, sport fishing and recreational boating opportunities they provide.
Siekaniec, a 24-year veteran of the National Wildlife Refuge System, served most recently as the refuge manager of Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge -- a refuge encompassing more than 2,500 islands and nearly five million acres. Siekaniec started his career at J. Clark Salyer National Wildlife Refuge in North Dakota as a refuge clerk and moved up into management positions in Montana, North Dakota and Wyoming before coming to Alaska.
