[env-trinity] USF&WS Director's Death

[Byron Leydecker]

DOI News

 

Secretary Salazar Statement on the Passing of Fish and Wildlife Director Sam
Hamilton

 

                                                                 02/20/2010

 

 

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar today released the following statement
on the passing of Sam Hamilton, the Director of the Fish and Wildlife
Service:

 

"The Interior Department family has suffered a great loss with the passing
of Sam Hamilton. Sam was a friend, a visionary, and a professional whose
years of service and passionate dedication to his work have left an
indelible mark on the lands and wildlife we cherish. His forward-thinking
approach to conservation - including his view that we must think beyond
boundaries at the landscape-scale- will continue to shape our nation's
stewardship for years to come. My heart goes out to Sam's family, friends,
and colleagues as we remember a remarkable leader and a compassionate, wise,
and eternally optimistic man."

 

Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks Thomas Strickland
released the following statement:

 

"We are all saddened by the loss of our dear friend and colleague Sam
Hamilton. A dedicated Fish and Wildlife Service employee for more than 30
years, Sam brought more than just a wealth of experience to the job, he
brought courage and outstanding leadership. The Department of the Interior
will miss him greatly."

 

Sam is survived by his wife Becky, his sons Sam Jr. and Clay and a grandson,
Davis all of Atlanta, GA.

 

Bio of Sam Hamilton:

 

On September 1, 2009, Sam D. Hamilton was sworn-in as the 15th Director of
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the nation's principal Federal agency
dedicated to the conservation of fish and wildlife and their habitats.

Hamilton brings to the position over 30 years of experience with the
Service, beginning when he was 15 years old working as a Youth Conservation
Corps member on the Noxubee National Wildlife Refuge in Mississippi. Prior
to his appointment as Director, he served as Regional Director of the
agency's Southeast Region in Atlanta, Georgia. As head of the Southeast
Region, made up of ten states and Caribbean, he provided oversight and
management of a $484 million budget and a 1,500-person work-force dedicated
to protecting more than 350 federally listed threatened and endangered
species and operating 128 national wildlife refuges.

 

Throughout his career, Hamilton has exhibited outstanding leadership and has
fostered creative and innovative solutions to the challenges facing wildlife
conservation. In the Southeast Region, he supported efforts leading to the
establishment of a carbon sequestration program that has helped biologists
to restore roughly 80,000 acres of wildlife habitat. His emphasis on
partnership activities has bolstered the Service's fisheries program and
helped establish the Southeast Aquatic Resources Partnership to restore
vital aquatic habitats across the region.

 

Hamilton provided key leadership and oversight to the Interior Department's
restoration work in the Everglades, the nation's fabled "River of Grass",
and the largest ecosystem restoration project in the country. He oversaw the
extensive recovery and restoration efforts required following Hurricanes
Katrina and Rita, which devastated coastal wetlands, wildlife refuges, and
other wildlife habitat areas along the Gulf of Mexico.

 

Hamilton remained a strong advocate for the National Wildlife Refuge System,
comprised of 550 units and encompassing 150 million acres of protected
habitat. Throughout his career he supported the expansion of existing
refuges and the addition of new refuges as an essential step in providing
for America's wildlife heritage.

 

Earlier in his career, Hamilton served as Assistant Regional Director of
Ecological Services in Atlanta and as the Service's Texas State
Administrator in Austin. Hamilton graduated from Mississippi State
University with a Bachelor of Science degree in biology in 1977.

 

Sam strongly believed no single entity, whether Federal, State, or private,
can ensure the sustainability of the nation's fish and wildlife resources
working independently, and continues to work toward building collaborative
partnerships that allow for the development of ideas and solutions that are
greater than any one entity, working on its own, can accomplish.

 

 

Byron Leydecker, JcT

Chair, Friends of Trinity River

PO Box 2327

Mill Valley, CA 94942-2327

415 383 4810 land/fax (call first to fax)

415 519 4810 mobile

 <mailto:bwl3 at comcast.net> bwl3 at comcast.net

 <mailto:bleydecker at stanfordalumni.org> bleydecker at stanfordalumni.org
(secondary)

 <http://fotr.org/> http://www.fotr.org 

 

 

 

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