Former U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Leaders Respond to Alaska Governor's Letter

Former U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) Director Jamie Rappaport Clark and former FWS Alaska Regional Director Geoffrey L. Haskett have issued a response to Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy’s criticism of FWS staff. In his March 1st letter to President Trump, Gov. Dunleavy claimed that FWS employees in Alaska have undermined seismic work and “are working daily to undermine the lease sale” in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

Statements:

“In my career as Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, I had the privilege to witness firsthand the remarkable dedication to public service of Fish and Wildlife Service career professionals,” said Jamie Rappaport Clark, now-Former president and CEO of Defenders of Wildlife. “Governor Dunleavy’s baseless accusations are a discredit to him and a disservice to all public employees.”

“I was honored, over my eight-year tenure as Regional Director in Alaska, to work with and lead an extraordinary group of people, who have dedicated their careers to preserving wildlife habitat and populations,” said Geoffrey L. Haskett, now-President of the National Wildlife Refuge Association. “To state in a letter to the President of the United States that these same dedicated public servants are undermining his directives is incredibly damaging and unfounded.”