The Wildlife Commission and Parks Board selected Region 2 Regional Forester Rick Cables as the director of the new combined agency, Division of Parks and Wildlife. His selection was approved (as required by the new statute) by the Executive Director of the Department of Natural Resources. The two bodies made their selection on June 10, following interviews of the final 3 candidates. Previously on May 31, two panels of stakeholders and one employee panel interviewed the 3 finalists and provided their feedback to the Executive Director of DNR and the chairs of the Wildlife Commission and the Parks Board.
Congratulations to Rick. CWF looks forward to meeting with the new director and working with him in his new role. CWF has worked with Rick for several years during his tenure as Regional Forester.
Below is the press release issued by the Department of Natural Resources on June 13:
STATE OF COLORADO
John W. Hickenlooper
Governor
Mike King
Executive Director
OFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Department of Natural Resources
1313 Sherman Street, Room 718
Denver, Colorado 80203
Phone: (303) 866-3311
Fax: (303) 866-2115
dnr.state.co.us
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, June 13, 2011
CONTACT
Todd Hartman, 303-866-3311 x-8665,
Rick Cables named director
of new Colorado Division of Parks and Wildlife
Rick Cables, Regional Forester for the U.S. Forest Service’s Rocky Mountain Region, has been
named the director of the newly created Colorado Division of Parks and Wildlife.
Cables will oversee the new division and its 880 employees beginning in July. The new division
unites the existing Colorado Division of Wildlife and Colorado State Parks, a merger approved by
state lawmakers and signed into law June 6 by Governor John Hickenlooper.
œRick Cables brings an accomplished career of conservation success, much of it in the West, to this
critical role leading our new Parks and Wildlife division, said Mike King, executive director of the
Colorado Department of Natural Resources. œWe are fortunate to have a person with his
conservation values, management talent and wealth of experience with western landscapes taking
the helm of this new agency.
œI feel privileged to be joining the remarkable professionals of the newly created Colorado Division
of Parks and Wildlife, Cables said. œTheir passion, professionalism and dedication to Colorado’s
wildlife and state parks make our wonderful state even more special. I’m very excited to pursue this
new challenge. To my friends in the U.S. Forest Service, an agency that I love, I thank you for the
experience and look forward to advancing Colorado’s conservation heritage.
Cables has been the Regional Forester of the Rocky Mountain Region since 2001. As Regional
Forester he has been responsible for the administration of over 22 million acres in 17 national
forests and 7 national grasslands, and cooperative efforts with state and private landowners in
Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota and eastern Wyoming.