Pacific Region Selects New Deputy Regional Director
Richard Hannan, an 18-year veteran of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, has been named the Pacific Region’s Deputy Regional Director, Regional Director Robyn Thorson announced today. The Pacific Region includes Hawai’i, Idaho, Oregon, Washington and U.S.-affiliated Pacific Islands.
Currently the Pacific Region’s Assistant Regional Director for Fisheries, Hannan will assume his new duties September He succeeds Dave Wesley, who retired in April.
“With his scientific credentials and experience in a variety of Service programs, Richard will provide strong leadership in working with states, tribes and others to protect, restore and enhance fish, wildlife and other natural resources,” Regional Director Thorson said. “I particularly value the respectful way he treats others and his focus on relationships.”
Hannan will help lead the daily operation of Fish and Wildlife Service activities in the Pacific Region, which manages or co-manages nearly 270 million acres of land and water on 64 national wildlife refuges and five national monuments, 11 ecological services field offices, eight fisheries stations and a research lab, 15 national fish hatcheries plus 26 state and tribal hatcheries funded, managed and/or administered through the Lower Snake River Compensation Plan, and the world’s only wildlife forensics laboratory. The Pacific Region manages three South Pacific national marine monuments totaling 125 million acres of land and water and co-manages the 89-million acre Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the State of Hawai’i.
Hannan said he is excited about helping lead the region.
“It has been my honor and a true privilege to serve the public working on issues I enjoy and that I am truly passionate about,” Hannan said. “When I was a youth, the mountains and magnificent forests, fields and streams of the Pacific Northwest inspired me to launch a career in natural resource management. Helping lead conservation issues in the Northwest and the Pacific Islands is the fulfillment of a life-long dream.”
Prior to his appointment as the Assistant Regional Director for Fisheries in February, Hannan worked for 11 years in the Service’s Alaska Region, where he served as the supervisor for Fisheries and Ecological Services and for Budget and Administration. He also managed operations in the Arctic and Southeast Alaska and oversaw the Alaska Region’s Conservation Genetics Laboratory. Before working in Alaska, Hannan was Deputy Chief of the Service’s Division of Endangered Species in Washington, D.C., one of various management positions he held in the division during his four years in the Washington Office.
Hannan started his career with the Fish and Wildlife Service in 1992 in Atlanta, Georgia, where he was the Southeast Region’s Endangered Species Act consultation coordinator, working on controversial endangered species issues throughout the region. Before joining the Service, Richard was the Director of the Kentucky State Nature Preserves Commission, where he worked for 14 years. Richard has a Master of Science degree in biology from Eastern Kentucky University.
He and his wife, Neesia, have two adult children. Hannan and his wife enjoy gardening, fishing, hiking, hunting, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, cooking and training their Chesapeake Bay retriever.
Currently the Pacific Region’s Assistant Regional Director for Fisheries, Hannan will assume his new duties September He succeeds Dave Wesley, who retired in April.
“With his scientific credentials and experience in a variety of Service programs, Richard will provide strong leadership in working with states, tribes and others to protect, restore and enhance fish, wildlife and other natural resources,” Regional Director Thorson said. “I particularly value the respectful way he treats others and his focus on relationships.”
Hannan will help lead the daily operation of Fish and Wildlife Service activities in the Pacific Region, which manages or co-manages nearly 270 million acres of land and water on 64 national wildlife refuges and five national monuments, 11 ecological services field offices, eight fisheries stations and a research lab, 15 national fish hatcheries plus 26 state and tribal hatcheries funded, managed and/or administered through the Lower Snake River Compensation Plan, and the world’s only wildlife forensics laboratory. The Pacific Region manages three South Pacific national marine monuments totaling 125 million acres of land and water and co-manages the 89-million acre Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the State of Hawai’i.
Hannan said he is excited about helping lead the region.
“It has been my honor and a true privilege to serve the public working on issues I enjoy and that I am truly passionate about,” Hannan said. “When I was a youth, the mountains and magnificent forests, fields and streams of the Pacific Northwest inspired me to launch a career in natural resource management. Helping lead conservation issues in the Northwest and the Pacific Islands is the fulfillment of a life-long dream.”
Prior to his appointment as the Assistant Regional Director for Fisheries in February, Hannan worked for 11 years in the Service’s Alaska Region, where he served as the supervisor for Fisheries and Ecological Services and for Budget and Administration. He also managed operations in the Arctic and Southeast Alaska and oversaw the Alaska Region’s Conservation Genetics Laboratory. Before working in Alaska, Hannan was Deputy Chief of the Service’s Division of Endangered Species in Washington, D.C., one of various management positions he held in the division during his four years in the Washington Office.
Hannan started his career with the Fish and Wildlife Service in 1992 in Atlanta, Georgia, where he was the Southeast Region’s Endangered Species Act consultation coordinator, working on controversial endangered species issues throughout the region. Before joining the Service, Richard was the Director of the Kentucky State Nature Preserves Commission, where he worked for 14 years. Richard has a Master of Science degree in biology from Eastern Kentucky University.
He and his wife, Neesia, have two adult children. Hannan and his wife enjoy gardening, fishing, hiking, hunting, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, cooking and training their Chesapeake Bay retriever.
