Greg Siekaniec promoted to Chief of Refuges. Photographer: Carla Stanley; USFWS

Gregory Siekaniec, Refuge Manager of Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge based in Homer, Alaska , has been selected as Chief of the National Wildlife Refuge System. Siekaniec took the reins of the system of 548 National Wildlife Refuges on January 4, 2009, succeeding Geoff Haskett who became Alaska Regional Director for the Fish and Wildlife Service in October, 2008.  Siekaniec had been manager of Alaska Maritime Refuge for 8 years guiding the refuge through major events including completion of its $18 million Islands & Ocean Visitor Center, the Service’s largest and most popular visitor center in Alaska, cleanup response to the Selendang Ayu ship wreck, and completing the first Alaskan rat eradication project on Rat Island last October.   

Siekaniec began his career at J. Clark Salyer National Wildlife Refuge in North Dakota as refuge clerk before moving into management positions in Montana, North Dakota and Wyoming.  He came to Alaska as  manager of the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge for 3 years in the mid-90's followed by a tour in Washington, D.C. as Deputy Chief of the Refuge System before assuming leadership at Alaska Maritime in 2001.

Through his varied career within the Refuge System, Siekaniec gained experience with small to large construction projects, large-scale habitat restoration, law enforcement, wetland management, environmental cleanup, land acquisitions, establishing new refuges, and sensitive wilderness stewardship issues.

Siekaniec earned a bachelor’s degree in wildlife biology from the University of Montana.  He completed the Senior Executive Service Candidate Development Program in 2008, including the Senior Executive Fellows Program at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. 

Siekaniec, his wife, Janelle, and their two children credit his work with the Service for the opportunities to live a rural subsistence lifestyle and, at other times, be immersed in an urban area with a rapidly growing population.  “The varied cultural and geographic experiences have led us to firmly embrace the importance of conservation partnerships,” said Siekaniec.  “Whether acquiring lands for the Refuge System or working to remove Norway rats from a seabird island, it’s all about working together and maintaining relationships.”   

During their years in Alaska, the Siekaniec family could often be seen fishing the Kenai River, hiking and camping across the state, and hunting from the end of the Alaska Peninsula to the northern Brooks Range.