“Sam is a veteran manager, innovative leader, and strong advocate for sound science,” Salazar said. “His three decades of experience with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s mission, responsibilities and programs will enable him to firmly guide the agency in its critical work conserving our nation’s wildlife and its habitat and addressing the impacts of climate change.”

A career senior biologist and manager with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Hamilton had been director of the agency’s Southeast Region in Atlanta, Georgia, where he was responsible for the oversight and management of more than 350 federally listed threatened and endangered species and 128 national wildlife refuges. As senior operating executive, he had full strategic planning and management responsibility for a $484 million budget and a 1,500-person work-force that operates in 10 states and the Caribbean.”

What will this manager type bring to N.W. U.S. waters and the improvement in fishing opportunities here?