MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Democratic Gov. Tony Evers has finally picked a new leader for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.
The governor announced Monday that he has appointed Karen Hyun as the agency’s secretary. Hyun has worked as chief of staff of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration since 2021. She worked as the National Audubon Society’s director of water and coastal policy before becoming vice president of coastal conservation in 2018. She also served as deputy assistant secretary for fish, wildlife and parks at the Department of the Interior in 2015.
The secretary position has been vacant since Adam Payne quit in early November 2023 after just 10 months on the job. Asked in an email Monday why the search took so long, Evers spokesperson Britt Cudaback responded by saying “we can refer you to the governor’s many previous comments.” She did not elaborate.
Evers said in January 2024 that the Senate Republicans have made it harder to find a new secretary.
Republican lawmakers for years have treated the DNR with disdain, criticizing the agency for being too draconian in regulating pollution, buying too much land for preservation and delivering anemic deer hunts in the state’s northern forests.