Scott appoints Chris Herrick to lead Department of Fish & Wildlife

Gov. Phil Scott has tapped Chris Herrick, deputy commissioner of the Department of Public Safety, to lead the state’s Department of Fish & Wildlife. 

The department, one of three within the state’s Agency of Natural Resources, has an annual budget of $20 million and is responsible for managing and conserving the state’s wildlife population and its habitats. 

Herrick will replace Louis Porter, who last month announced he plans to step down to become general manager of Washington Electric Cooperative. Porter will depart at the end of October; Herrick will take over on Nov. 8. 

Herrick has been deputy commissioner of the Department of Public Safety for five years, and recently helped the state distribute Covid-19 testing supplies, managed Covid-19 surge sites and served as an incident manager for the State Emergency Operations Center. Previously, he was the director of Vermont Emergency Management.

“Chris has demonstrated strong leadership within state government, including through the pandemic, and has a wealth of knowledge that will benefit the department,” Scott said in a statement on Friday. “He will serve the state well in this new role and contribute to our already successful, science-based management and conservation of wildlife, land and waters.”

Herrick’s first order of business, he said, will be to engage with stakeholders. 

“I don’t have any preconceived notions, except to say that land conservation is super important,” he told VTDigger. “It’s important to me; it’s also important for the state and the agency and the department.”

Herrick, 55, was born and raised in Greenfield, Mass. He attended St. Michael’s College and worked at the college’s fire department for several years. Upon graduating, he took a job at the Howard Center, helping differently abled adults, before pursuing a master’s degree in education at the University of Vermont. 

Herrick worked as a deputy sheriff in Grand Isle County before becoming chief of Vermont’s first HAZMAT team in 1999.

He spent 30 years as a volunteer firefighter, including five years as chief of the South Hero Volunteer Fire Department, and he was a certified emergency medical technician for 25 years. He has chaired both his local selectboard and school board. 

Herrick lives on 10 acres in the Champlain Islands where he birdwatches and kayaks, and he owns a camp in Canaan, in the northeast corner of the state, where he spends time fly fishing, hunting and hiking. Herrick said he’d like to advertise fishing, hunting and other outdoor activities to a broader section of the public. 

Members of the advocacy organization Protect Our Wildlife have been watching closely as the governor embarked on a search for a new commissioner. The president and co-founder, Brenna Galdenzi, said the organization often clashed with Porter, the current commissioner. 

Galdenzi told VTDigger she doesn’t know Herrick, but hopes to meet with him to discuss the organization’s priorities.

“We are really excited at hitting the reset button with a new commissioner — a new opportunity to come together on areas of shared concern, and really move the needle on some issues that we all care about,” she said. 

She hopes to get the commissioner’s support on issues such as banning wanton waste of wildlife, and hopes he will build bridges with “nontraditional customers” of the department, such as birdwatchers and wildlife advocates, “who have really largely been left out of decision-making policy when it comes to what happens with the Fish & Wildlife board,” she said.

In a joint statement, Brian Shupe, executive director of Vermont Natural Resources Council, and David Mears, executive director of Audubon Vermont, supported the governor’s decision. 

Mears said he worked with Herrick after Tropical Storm Irene. 

“His competence and responsiveness to the needs of Vermonters in the midst of that crisis are strong indicators of his ability to lead the Department of Fish & Wildlife at time when our birds, fish and wildlife are facing their own crisis: the dual threats of climate change and loss of habitat,” Mears wrote. 

Julie Moore, secretary of the Agency of Natural Resources, also supported Herrick’s appointment. 

“As an avid outdoorsman, I look forward to Chris bringing together his personal interests with his knowledge of state government and clear commitment to state service,” she said.