SACRAMENTO, California — Chuck Bonham, the longtime director of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, is leaving the position to join environmental group The Nature Conservancy in January.
What happened: The Nature Conservancy announced Bonham as its new California executive director Monday, replacing interim California Executive Director Scott Morrison.
Why this matters: Bonham is California’s longest-serving fish and wildlife director, having first been appointed by former Gov. Jerry Brown in 2011. His exit comes as Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration heads into its final year with several major wildlife goals still in limbo, including boosting salmon populations, resolving conflicts with Northern California ranchers and farmers over predation from gray wolves and mountain lions, and bracing for likely clashes with the Trump administration over water deliveries.
More context: Bonham oversaw ups and downs in the state’s wildlife policies, including the removal of four dams on the Klamath River in Northern California that paved the way for salmon to return to their original spawning grounds upriver and the closures of commercial salmon fishing for three years in a row because of population declines.
