President Trump Selects Aurelia Skipwith as His Nomination for U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Director
OutdoorHub Reporters 11.01.18
President Donald Trump announced Aurelia Skipwith as his nomination for the Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke applauded his decision.
Skipworth currently holds the title as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks in the Department of the Interior. She leads a team focused on ensuring the protection and stewardship of lands and waters within the national park and wildlife refuge systems.
Background
Aurelia previously served as Assistant Corporate Counsel at Alltech, Inc. Skipwith earned her B.S. in biology from Howard University, M.A. in molecular genetics from Purdue University, and J.D. from the University of Kentucky College of Law. She is the first African American and third woman to ever be nominated to the position.
“For the past year and a half while she served as a Deputy Assistant Secretary, I’ve come to know Aurelia Skipwith as a professional, a scientist and passionate conservationist, and I know she will be an incredible Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,” said Secretary Zinke in a press release. “She has helped lead some of my top priorities for getting more people to enjoy our public lands, like expanding access for hunting and fishing, recognizing National Urban Refuge Day, and designating sites on the African American Civil Rights Network. I look forward to her speedy confirmation.”
Her Response
“I am deeply honored that President Trump has considered me for the role of Director of the Fish and Wildlife Service,” said Aurelia Skipwith. “During the past 18 months as Deputy Assistant Secretary, I have had the distinction to work with dedicated people of the Service to ensure the implementation of this Administration’s and Secretary Zinke’s policies to protect our species, increase public access, and ensure science is at forefront of our decisions. If confirmed, I look forward to the opportunity to lead the Service in achieving a conservation legacy second only to President Teddy Roosevelt.”
Criticism
The nomination of Aurelia Skipwith wasn’t well received by all. Far left environmental advocacy organizations like Center for Biological Diversity didn’t hold back in their critiquing of Trump’s nomination. “Utterly unqualified” were their exact words in reference to Skipwith.
“Aurelia Skipwith has been working in the Trump administration all along to end protections for billions of migratory birds, gut endangered species safeguards and eviscerate national monuments,” said Brett Hartl, government affairs director at the Center for Biological Diversity. “Skipwith will always put the interests of her old boss Monsanto and other polluters ahead of America’s wildlife and help the most anti-environmental administration in history do even more damage.”
“Skipwith is utterly unqualified to run the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,” said Hartl. “Putting unqualified ideological fanatics into positions of power continues to be the Trump administration’s game plan. These people have utterly no compunction or shame about destroying the very agencies they’re being appointed to lead.”
Endorsed by Boone and Crockett Club
On the other hand, the sportsmen’s organization Boone and Crockett Club praised the move by Trump:
“This is a critical appointment because our fish and wildlife are critical natural resources to our nation,” said Paul Phillips, co-chairman of the Club’s Conservation Policy Committee. “This might be stating the obvious, but the challenges facing our fish and wildlife require a deeper dive than what just lies on the surface. Skipwith has proven she has the knowledge, experience, and energy to not just maintain, but enhance these resources for all Americans.”
“I have had the privilege of working with Ms. Skipwith in her current capacity at the Department of the Interior,” said James L. Cummins, who is also a co-chairman of the B&C Club’s Conservation Policy Committee. “The nation is fortunate to be the beneficiary of her service.”
