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A regional public media collaboration serving the Rocky Mountain States of Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming.

The Latest Shakeup In Zinke's Department Is The FWS Head Leaving His Job

Greg Sheehan served as the director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for 14 months.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Greg Sheehan served as the director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for 14 months.
Greg Sheehan served as the director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for 14 months.
Credit U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
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U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Greg Sheehan served as the director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for 14 months.

The Interior Department is once again facing change in agency leadership. The acting head of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has stepped down. 

Greg Sheehan was a Trump appointee who’d been with the agency for 14 months. He says he’s leaving to spend time with family in Utah.

The Interior Department issued a statement calling Sheehan “an incredible asset to the Interior team.” His departure is one of a number of shake-ups in the department under Secretary Ryan Zinke. 

"I think there’s just a lot of turmoil in the Interior right now," says John Freemuth, a professor of environmental policy at Boise State University. 

Under Secretary Zinke, the Interior Department has also made changes to National Park Service leadership, including the reassignment of Yellowstone Superintendent Dan Wenk.  

Freemuth is worried that the constant musical chairs may be bad for morale. "Just the way people are somewhat moved around, but there doesn’t seem to be a logic or a pattern to it. It just happens occasionally."  

Sheehan will be replaced by another appointee who will act as the Fish and Wildlife Service director until the Trump Administration puts forth an official nominee before the Senate. 

Find reporter Amanda Peacher on Twitter  @amandapeacher .

Copyright 2018 Boise State Public Radio

This story was produced by the Mountain West News Bureau, a collaboration between Wyoming Public Media, Boise State Public Radio in Idaho, Yellowstone Public Radio in Montana, KUER in Salt Lake City and KRCC and KUNC in Colorado.

Copyright 2020 Boise State Public Radio News. To see more, visit Boise State Public Radio News.

Amanda Peacher is an Arthur F. Burns fellow reporting and producing in Berlin in 2013. Amanda is from Portland, Oregon, where she works as the public insight journalist for Oregon Public Broadcasting. She produces radio and online stories, data visualizations, multimedia projects, and facilitates community engagement opportunities for OPB's newsroom.
Amanda Peacher
Amanda Peacher works for the Mountain West News Bureau out of Boise State Public Radio. She's an Idaho native who returned home after a decade of living and reporting in Oregon. She's an award-winning reporter with a background in community engagement and investigative journalism.
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