U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Dan Ashe today announced the appointment of Gregory Siekaniec as the agency’s Regional Director for Alaska, marking Siekaniec’s return to the agency he served for more than two decades.
Siekaniec, a career Service employee, previously served as the agency’s Deputy Director for Policy, before leaving the Service in 2012 to assume the leadership of Ducks Unlimited Canada, one of Canada’s most prominent conservation organizations.
In his new capacity as Regional Director, Siekaniec will oversee the direction and day-to-day operations of the Alaska Region, the only FWS Region to manage a single state. The Region's National Wildlife Refuge system is massive, accounting for over 80 percent of all refuge land managed by the agency.
“Greg Siekaniec has been an outstanding conservation leader throughout his long career in the Fish and Wildlife Service, and we’re fortunate to have him returning to the agency to lead our Alaska Region. Greg spent much of his career as a refuge employee and manager in Alaska, and he’s intimately familiar with the region’s outstanding employees and incredible conservation work,” said Ashe.
Siekaniec started his career at J. Clark Salyer National Wildlife Refuge as a refuge clerk and moved up into management positions in Montana, North Dakota and Wyoming in addition to Alaska.
Just before taking the helm of the Refuge System in 2009, Siekaniec spent eight years as the refuge manager of Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge, which encompasses more than 2,500 islands and nearly five million acres. As refuge manager, he led partnership-driven efforts to restore island biodiversity and rid islands of destructive invasive species invasive species
An invasive species is any plant or animal that has spread or been introduced into a new area where they are, or could, cause harm to the environment, economy, or human, animal, or plant health. Their unwelcome presence can destroy ecosystems and cost millions of dollars.
Learn more about invasive species – foxes and rats – that had nearly eradicated native seabirds and other wildlife.
As Chief of the National Wildlife Refuge System from 2009-2011, he led efforts to meet the challenges of the 21st century, efforts that are now being implemented and built upon today.
Siekaniec earned a bachelor's degree in wildlife biology from the University of Montana. He and his wife Janelle continue to relish their time outdoors and look forward to returning to the wilds of Alaska.
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