President Donald Trump has nominated former Wyoming Game and Fish director Brian Nesvik to head the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Nesvik will be leading the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) through familiar matters, such as the continuing debate over whether to delist grizzly bears from federal protection in the Lower 48. He will also be diving into newer, unfamiliar issues, such as the management of marine wildlife.

Nesvik told Cowboy State Daily that he wasn’t yet at liberty to discuss the nomination.

According to Rob Wallace, assistant secretary for the Interior under the first Trump administration, Nesvik is good pick to head the federal agency.

“There’s an inherent tension between state game agencies and FWS. Brian has the wisdom and maturity to navigate between those two,” Wallace told Cowboy State Daily.

Nesvik, who began with Wyoming Game and Fish in 1995, was appointed director by Gov. Mark Gordon in 2019. He retired from Game and Fish in September of 2024.

He served in a variety of positions while with the agency, including as a game warden, regional wildlife supervisor, and chief game warden where he gained experience at handling challenging situations and controversy.

Wallace said if Nesvik is confirmed, he may have to undertake challenges such as the reformation of the Endangered Species Act, protection for golden eagles, management of marine mammals and migratory birds, and regulating trafficking of wild plants and animals.

Wallace said both Nesvik and Trump’s Interior Secretary, Doug Burgum, have openly voiced support for delisting grizzlies, which means they will likely reconsider the FWS’s decision to reject petitions from Wyoming and Montana to delist the bears. That decision was announced in December, just before former president Joe Biden left office.