“He has the training and experience needed:" Gov. Walker announces administration staff change

MADISON (WITI) -- Governor Scott Walker on Friday, March 20th announced Kurt Thiede as the new Deputy Secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.

“Kurt Thiede has served the people of Wisconsin well for the past 14 years,” Governor Walker said.  “He has the training and experience needed to help preserve and maintain Wisconsin’s natural resources and will be instrumental in our continued work to make state government more efficient, effective, and accountable.”

“I am thrilled for the opportunity and equally grateful and humbled by the trust that Governor Walker and Secretary Stepp have placed in me to continue to move the Department of Natural Resources forward along the path we have charted over the past four years,” Thiede said.

Prior to his role as Land Division Administrator,  Thiede worked within the Department of Natural Resources as the Wildlife Management Regulation and Policy Specialist, the DNR Liaison to the Wisconsin Conservation Congress, and a Customer Service and Licensing Program Supervisor for Southern Wisconsin. Thiede’s responsibilities as Land Division Administrator included leading the department’s Parks and Recreation division, Wildlife Management, Natural Heritage and Conservation, and Facilities and Lands programs, and overseeing the WDNR’s real estate and capital development programs.

Thiede holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Wildlife Biology from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point.