By PAULA TRACY, InDepthNH.org
CONCORD – Dr. Stephanie L. Simek, Washington state’s expert on large game carnivores, including cougars and wolves, answered questions of the state’s Executive Council Tuesday as she is the governor’s pick to run the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department as its new executive director.
If confirmed, she will be the state’s first female director and likely the first who is not an avid hunter. The council will meet on Aug. 30 to decide on her nomination following the hearing, which was largely positive.
Simek said the job in New Hampshire requires flexibility, both social and environmental, lots of transparency and the department faces numerous challenges from what she can see, including budgetary considerations.
She said the size of the staff is good and could allow for an “open door policy” which she would favor.
Climate change, invasive species and disease threats are new challenges the department also faces, she acknowledged in addition to maintaining a budget which relies heavily on hunting and fishing license sales right now.
The department is guardian of the state’s wild resources and has a mission to conserve, manage and protect them and their habitats, including coastal marine resources, and to inform and educate the public about them. The Fish and Game Commission acts as an advisory board to the director and all are informed by the department’s biologist and law enforcement divisions among other divisions on how to proceed.
After a nationwide search this spring, Simek was the unanimous pick of the state’s Fish and Game Commission to fill the spot being vacated this month by Coos County’s Scott Mason, who did not seek reappointment.
Gov. Chris Sununu, a Republican, said the commission gave him one name though there was an in-house finalist from within the department whom he did not name. The fact that the vote was unanimous weighed heavily in his decision to nominate her, he said, recently.
Coos County Fish and Game Commissioner Eric Stohl, who represented the search committee, said they reached out to 150 wildlife agencies nationwide and received 47 applications. They interviewed six applicants but only three met the requirements for the job under state law, RSA 206:a.
There were two out of state videos including one with Simek. They flew Simek here to meet with the search committee and “we were very, very satisfied,” he said.
The vote was 100 percent unanimous to support her nomination to the governor.
Simek’s current position is as a Regional Manager for the Washington Parks and Recreation Commission in Olympia, Washington. She has 30 years experience in the field and holds a doctor of philosophy in Forest Resources from Mississippi State University and a Master of Science in Environmental and Forest Biology from the State University of New York in Syracuse.
Her resume states she has handled capturing wildlife, data collection, employee engagement and has the ability to “stay calm in high-pressure environments.”
Born in upstate New York near the Adirondacks, she moved around due to her father’s work in the Armed Services and grew up all over the world.
Her mother was an entrepreneur who had to adapt after each new deployment.
“I’m super excited about this possibility,” she said.
She thanked the Executive Council for the opportunity to meet and thanked both the governor and the Fish and Game Commission for their selection of her, stakeholders and members of the public for attending the hearing.
“It’s an honor to receive this nomination,” Simek said.
In her opening statement, she said she has led teams in potentially contentious situations, does not like to sit, is a creative thinker, empathetic and spent her entire career in resource management.
She was one of the first women to lead a black bear management project in the country.
“I support the cultural heritage of hunting and fishing,” Simek said and is eager to “find common ground” with various groups and organizations.
She said her philosophy is that common ground can be found in any controversy.
The fact that more than 70 percent of the land in New Hampshire is privately held offers an opportunity to work collaboratively.
Executive Councilor Joe Kenney of Wakefield, a Republican whose district includes the Lakes Region, White Mountains and the Great North Woods, said he has to work with the Fish and Game from search and rescue, OHRV issues, and even once, how to dispose of a decaying moose on someone’s lawn.
He asked her how she balanced the needs of the general public and those who are using and consuming the resource, including fish and game.
“I believe you have to manage each situation independently,” Simek said, on a case by case basis.
He asked about her skill sets dealing with legislative bodies.
She said she created a wolf advisory group which created a mitigation plan to compensate ranchers for their losses and brought it to the legislature.
She said she sees hunting and fishing as a tool to manage the populations, educate the public, and experience the outdoors and said it is a part of the cultural heritage of the state.
“It is a value for them,” she said.
She worked in Virginia and Florida where development was happening everywhere in 2004-2008 and found a lot of conflict with bears and worked with Florida developers to create greenspaces to allow them access to reservoirs.
She said transparency is key and “it starts with the director,” to set the tone.
Asked what she sees as the largest challenge for the department, she said there are many competing demands but a need to see some more fiscal support.
“I do have quite a bit of homework to do,” if confirmed, Simek said.
She suggested that a revenue source might come from out of state where there is a significant draw for tourism and noted the issue of the declining moose population is a poignant one.
But she noted that out of state tourism may hold a key to improving the fiscal outlook, while not elaborating.
Executive Councilor Cinde Warmington of Concord, a Democrat, asked about differences between Washington State and New Hampshire. Simek responded this is a much smaller staff size, interest in the public is real and there is likely concern about someone coming from the West and how that might alter the laws.
She said New Hampshire enjoys a good reputation across the country and that those who work here enjoy their jobs and get out in the field.
Warmington, who is running for governor, asked about the fish hatcheries which are under modification because of the need to clean up their waste water.
Simek said she enjoys salmon and halibut fishing and has been hunting with her father but is not an avid hunter. However, she does hold a hunting license.
Executive Councilor Janet Stevens of Rye, a Republican, said there are 222 employees in Fish and Game.
Simek said she is ultimately responsible for about 204 in a hierarchical system in Washington but has direct supervision over a handful.
Stevens asked about offshore wind and Simek said she did not know a lot about it but was interested in learning about it and the challenges it may present.
Executive Councilor David Wheeler of Milford, a Republican, asked about carbon credit farms and how it impacts habitat management.
She said it is a new issue in Washington as well, and has not managed it but believes there is common ground that can be established.
After the council finished questions, the public was offered a chance to comment on the nomination.
Dr. Weldon Bosworth, of the NH Wildlife Coalition, said he was also at the hearing in 2020 for the current director and was pleased with Simek’s communication skills and resume.
He said he takes a bit of umbridge with the idea that removal of a certain percent of species can be achieved while keeping the population healthy and acknowledged that the federal money from the sales of equipment is only a small percentage of the budget for the department.
Bosworth said Simek’s experience dealing with contentious situations bodes well for her candidacy.
John Klose of Epsom, a hunter, trapper and fisherman and former employee of the department, said he is very impressed by Simek’s words and resume.
“Unbelievable. She seems to be the first one…who knows what to do,” he said.
He said the department is the worst he has seen in 16 years. “She’s going to have her hands full,” he said. “She just can’t do it all herself.”
He suggested an audit of the department as the first action she should take.
