U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Wendi Weber has been selected as the new Assistant Regional Director of Ecological Services for the U.S.F.W.S.'s Midwest Region, headquartered in Fort Snelling, Minnesota. Weber succeeds Charlie Wooley, who became the Service's Midwest Deputy Regional Director in January 2004.
Weber's responsibilities will include directing the Service's Midwest Ecological Services program, including oversight of staff in ten ecological services field offices and the regional office. Ecological Services administers the Endangered Species Act and works to recover imperiled species; looks for damages for resources injured or damaged by contaminants; helps private landowners restore wildlife habitat; and ensures compliance with the Countrywide Environmental Policy Act and other laws and programs aimed at conserving and protecting fish and wildlife resources.
" We know the fish and wildlife in the Midwest Region's 8 states will benefit from Wendi's experience," said Regional Director, Robyn Thorson. "Throughout her career, she has demonstrated excellent scientific knowledge and a common-sense approach to resolving issues."
Weber began her Service career in 1998. Prior to her selection as assistant regional director, she served in the Service's Pacific Regional Office Endangered Species program, in Portland, Oregon, as a supervisory biologist.
Weber's previous assignments included supervisory biologist and advisory positions with the Service's Washington Office, Division of Endangered Species. She also worked as a marine research associate with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and a research biologist for the Georgia Department of Natural Resources and the University of Georgia.
" I look forward to living and working in the Twin Cities area," Weber said. "I am excited for the opportunity to work with the many partners within and outside of the Service to conserve the countless wonderful natural resources of the Midwest."
Weber, a native of Rochester, New York, holds a master's degree in forest resources from the University of Georgia, and a bachelor's degree in zoology from the University of Rhode Island.
Weber and her family will relocate to the Twin Cities area this summer.
The U.S.F.W.S. is the principal federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages the 95-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System, which encompasses 544 National wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 69 Countrywide fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resources offices and 81 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 and Native American tribal governments with their conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Assistance program, which distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies.