Brian Nesvik’s record of failure leading the Wyoming Game and Fish Department is a precursor for how he would run the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Our public wildlife, lands, waters and everyone who cherishes these incredible resources will pay the price.  Opinion Nesvik served as Gam e and Fish director from 2019 to 2024. Throughout that time he oversaw disease spread among big game including deer and elk, disgraceful treatment of wolves and a stained image of our state in the eyes of people around the world who value wildlife and wildlands. Now as Trump’s pick to run Fish and Wildlife, Nesvik would bring his record to the nation.  He oversaw a state agency that conducted reviews of the 21 elk feedgrounds throughout northwestern Wyoming. These draw in hundreds of elk each winter, where they concentrate the large ungulates as they’re fed hay or alfalfa pellets in a policy that can only be described as backwards. That’s because concentrating animals creates a breeding ground for wildlife diseases. Yet year after year under Nesvik’s leadership, his agency did nothing to phase out the feeding.  We’re now seeing the results in that failure of leadership. Two years ago, half of the elk calves on the Horse Creek feedground near Hoback Junction died of foot rot. And now, always-fatal chronic wasting disease is rapidly spreading on four feedgrounds in Wyoming. And these feedgrounds are also prone to spreading numerous other diseases, including brucellosis, bovine tuberculosis and scabies.  Not only has this policy been wrongheaded — it’s also been expensive for American taxpayers. Federal and state governments have spent millions on feed and disease testing as well as an incinerator to deal with elk carcasses there.  This policy also shows a gross contradiction in policy for the state of Wyoming. In other areas of the state, Wyoming is paying ranchers $30 an animal unit month for elk that are on their land, under the claim that the animals are overpopulated. But those same ranchers are getting grass on public lands for a mere $1.35 an AUM. And Wyoming Game and Fish is culling elk in some of these areas, a disgraceful move that reduces public hunting opportunities.  Speaking of disgraceful, just look at the treatment of wolves in Wyoming. The state under Nesvik works to manage for the absolute bare minimum number, with a “predator zone” allowing wolves to be killed year-round, by nearly any means. That attitude is what led to a wolf being run over by a snowmobile last year, and tortured alive in a bar in Daniel before it was taken behind the building and finally killed. Nesvik called this an isolated incident, but in truth Wyoming allows people to run over wolves with snowmobiles without consequences..  As if Nesvik’s record on wildlife wasn’t abhorrent enough, we also know that he places the interests of the oil and gas industry above our public lands — despite overwhelming support for the conservation of public lands among Wyomingites. During the Biden administration, Nesvik railed against bans on oil and gas leasing on federal land, claiming “restricting mineral development does not serve the best interests of Wyoming wildlife.” Nesvik asserts that oil and gas lessees are critical partners in mitigating impacts to wildlife, but we know that rarely does the industry’s interests overlap with the best interests of wildlife.  Nesvik touts his record as a success, but we see abject failure. Every decision has been meant to cater to outfitters who sell trophies and ranchers who graze livestock on public lands. Everyone else — those who love Wyoming’s wildlife and wildlands, hunters, anglers, hikers — has paid a price. It’s no model for wildlife nationwide.  The post Nesvik’s record of wildlife failure in Wyoming shows he’s wrong for federal job appeared first on WyoFile . ...read more read less