Governor Kim Reynolds.
Governor Kim Reynolds says she’s conducting a national search to find a new director for the Department of Natural Resources.
On May 1 of last year, Chuck Gipp retired after serving seven years as the agency’s leader. Bruce Trautman has been the department’s acting director for the past 12 months.
“Bruce has been the deputy for quite some time,” Reynolds says. “He’s doing a good job over there and instead of working on someone else’s timeline, I want to make sure we get the right person.”
The governor says it’s a big agency with a wide variety of responsibilities and that has complicated the process of finding a new director.
“We have a great story to tell,” Reynolds says. “This is a beautiful state. We have a lot of opportunities and need to really be able to address both ag concerns, business concerns and environmental concerns as well.”
There’s been an acting director leading the state’s prison system since the previous director retired December 27th. Reynolds says after a national search, she’ll be interviewing prospects for that job in the next few weeks.