Governor Walker has announced Kurt Thiede will be the new Deputy Secretary of the Department of Natural Resouces (DNR).

Thiede has been hired from within the DNR, having served fourteen years with the agency. Prior to his new appointment he was Land Division Administrator, a position which oversaw 500 personnel working in wildlife, parks and recreation, natural heritage conservation, land acquisition, master planning and capital development. Prior to this position, Thiede was Wildlife Management Regulation and Policy Specialist, DNR Liaison to the Wisconsin Conservation Congress, and Customer Service and Licensing Program Supervisor for Southern Wisconsin.

According to statute, the deputy secretary fulfills the secretary’s duties as requested by and in the absence of the department secretary. Often, the deputy secretary oversees day-to-day operations of the department.

The deputy secretary position at the DNR has been open since the former Deputy Secretary Matt Moroney was appointed to a senior advisor position in the governor’s office to oversee the mergers of state agencies proposed in Governor Walker’s budget.