Monday, August 31st, 2009 at 12:49 pm

Washington, DC - -(AmmoLand.com)- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Sam D. Hamilton announced today the selection of Dan Ashe and Rowan Gould to serve as deputy directors for the agency.

Gould, who has served as acting director since January 2009, will be deputy director for operations. Gould will oversee regional directors, ensuring agency performance and accountability, consistent application of all Service resource management policies, and will be responsible for the day-to-day Service operations.

Ashe, who has served as science advisor to the director since 2003, will be deputy director for policy. He will oversee assistant directors in the Washington, D.C. office, providing strategic program direction, and will be responsible for developing policy and guidance to support and promote program development and fulfill the Service mission.

"It is difficult for me to overstate how lucky the Service is to have these two accomplished leaders, in these key positions, at this critical juncture," said Hamilton. "I would be remiss in not mentioning how fortunate I personally feel to have both Rowan and Dan helping me to navigate the challenges and seize the opportunities ahead of the Service. The combination of their extensive experiences and range of expertise is a rare, and much needed, resource."

Gould is a native of Oregon and received his B.A., M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in fish health and fish biology from Oregon State University. He started his Service career as a research microbiologist at the Seattle National Research Center in 1976. During Gould's career with the Service, he has served in numerous research positions including as section chief at the National Fisheries Research Center in Seattle, Washington and the director of the National Fisheries Research and Development Laboratory, Wellsboro, Pennsylvania.

Before stepping in as acting director, Gould was selected in September 2008 as the agency's deputy director. Prior to that, he served as assistant director for Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration. Other leadership positions he has held include terms as regional director of the Alaska Region, deputy assistant director for fisheries in Washington, D.C. and deputy regional director for the Service's Pacific Region.

Ashe was born, and spent his childhood in Atlanta, Georgia, where his father - William "Bill" Ashe - began his 37-year career with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Mr. Ashe earned a M.S. degree in marine affairs from the University of Washington, and a B.S. in biological sciences from Florida State University, in Tallahassee, Florida. He worked for 13 years on the professional staff of the former Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries, in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Since coming to the Service, in 1995, Ashe has served in a variety of leadership capacities: assistant director, external affairs; assistant director, refuges and wildlife; chief, National Wildlife Refuge System; and science advisor to the director. As science advisor, Ashe provided leadership on science policy and scientific applications to resource management. He has led the organization in recognizing and responding to changes in the global climate system. Ashe also helped define an agency Code of Scientific and Professional Conduct; author new guidelines for scientific peer review and information quality; build electronic literature access for employees; and reinstitute internal scientific publication outlets.

"As I assume the position of director, I have set many objectives. Achieving them will require commitment, professionalism, integrity, trust and a spirit of public service. These are characteristics of Service employees, and particularly of these two individuals, and I am pleased they will be at my side leading this agency," Hamilton said.