DNREC’s new Director for Division of Fish and Wildlife officially begins his tenure.
Pat Emory has served 39 years with DNREC in various roles including previously leading the Division of Fish and Wildlife from 2003 to 2011. He returned to the post Monday replacing former Director David Saveikis who recently retired.
Emory most recently was DNREC’s director for the Division of Community Affairs.
As he gets his feet wet again as Director, Emory says he has a full agenda that mixes starting new projects and completing ones already started.
Emory wants to enhance land management as he takes over as director.
“In the off-season there's other opportunities for non-consumptive activities, and we're looking at those opportunities to try and get more people out there to enjoy these wildlife areas,” said Emory. “There's approximately 68,000 acres here which the Fish and Wildlife controls. My objective is trying to get more people out on the landscape to try and enjoy it."
He also wants to do more outreach and promote the department differently so everyone knows what it has to offer.
That includes attracting more young people to go hunting and fishing.
"I'm hoping that we can set up programs - we have some established - and cause those to grow in the state so we can attract more young people and more people to the outside that actually go hunting and fishing. I think our numbers are kind of dropping off every year relative who's buying hunting licenses. I want to try and increase that and see if we can get back into the schools and that type of thing," said Emory.
Emory would like to establish more dog training areas within wildlife areas like at Milford Neck - which he helped establish the last time he was directing the Fish and Wildlife Division.
