From Yakutat to Ketchikan, a new wildlife supervisor will direct hunting and wildlife conservation in Southeast.
Ryan Scott, Alaska Department of Fish and Game Regional Supervisor for the Southeast Region, is moving on to a new position at ADF&G. The department is still looking for Scott’s replacement.
Scott has worked at ADF&G for 22 years. He’s led Southeast wildlife management for the last four years.
In a Monday phone interview, Scott, who grew up in Juneau, said he’s been proud of his and his department’s work in that time.
“I love the Southeast region. Not even just the employees of the department and the division in Southeast but also the residents,” he said.
Alaska is divided into five regional divisions. The Southeast Region is comprised of four area offices at Ketchikan, Sitka, Petersburg and Juneau. An area management biologist runs each of those offices.
Management biologists answer to the regional supervisor, who oversees an annual budget of approximately $4 million.
Scott mentioned their work with wolf populations on Prince of Wales Island, brown bear research and “world-renowned” mountain goat research as projects that stuck out to him during his tenure.
“I believe wildlife management in Southeast Alaska has been done very well. … I think the residents of the region can be very proud to know that their best interest and the wildlife’s best interest is being looked out for,” Scott said.
Scott will move on to a statewide focus as Assistant Director of the Division of Wildlife Conservation at the headquarters office in Juneau. Scott will replace Assistant Director Lem Butler, according to Division of Wildlife Conservation Deputy Director Maria Gladziszewski.
He said his institutional knowledge won’t be lost with the move.
“I’m still with the division and if there’s anything I can do to help, please give me a call or come by and see me at the headquarters office,” Scott said.
The Regional Supervisor position is currently being advertised at $7,289 monthly pay and for Alaska residents only.
A replacement for Scott could be decided as soon as a few weeks after the deadline for applications on Sept. 11. The job search could last longer than that, Gladziszewski said, if the department holds multiple rounds of interviews.
• Contact reporter Kevin Gullufsen at kgullufsen@juneauempire.com. Follow him on Twitter at @KevinGullufsen.
