Jeffrey Kiefer Named Plan Leader of the Service's Indiana Private Lands Office

Jeffrey Kiefer, a native of Pennsylvania, has been named State Private Lands Coordinator for the U.S.F.W.S.ÃŒs Indiana Private Lands Office in Bloomington, Ind. Kiefer, who has ten years of experience with the Service, will assume his responsibilities November 17.

The Indiana Private Lands Office works cooperatively with landowners and conservation partners to restore privately owned fish and wildlife habitats throughout the state. Kiefer will oversee plans that will restore essential wetlands and associated uplands and stream corridors for the benefit of migratory birds, endangered species, and native fish and wildlife species.

"In Indiana we are fortunate to have many dedicated individuals from agencies, conservation groups, corporations, Soil and Water Conservation Districts, and schools whose interest and involvement, together with the commitments of thousands of private landowners, have been the reason the Partners for Fish and Wildlife Plan has been so successful," Kiefer said. "I look forward to continuing those efforts, as well as developing new partnerships, to help foster even greater opportunities for habitat restoration in the future."

Kiefer comes to the Indiana Private Lands Office from the ServiceÃŒs Bloomington, Ind., Ecological Services Field Office. While in the Bloomington Office, he worked with the Private Lands Program.

Before coming to the Bloomington office, Kiefer was a district wildlife biologist with the Indiana Department of Natural Resources. He is a certified wildlife biologist and a past president of the Indiana Chapter of The Wildlife Society.

Kiefer received a bachelorÃŒs degree in natural resources and environmental science from Purdue University in 1983. He earned a masterÃŒs degree in wildlife management from the University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point in 1985.

The U.S.F.W.S. is the principal federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting, and enhancing fish and wildlife and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages the 95 million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System, which encompasses nearly 540 National wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 70 Countrywide fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resource offices and 78 ecological services field stations. The agency enforces Federal wildlife laws, administers the Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores nationally significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign governments with their conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Aid Plan that distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies.

For further information about programs and activities of the U.S.F.W.S. in the Great Lakes-Big Rivers Region, visit our website at http://midwest.fws.gov

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