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On Wednesday, Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources Commissioner Rich Storm provided an update about staffing in the Commissioner’s Office.
Information and Education Division Director Gabe Jenkins has been named Deputy Commissioner. He joins Deputy Commissioner Brian Clark and Jenny Gilbert in the Commissioner’s Office. Storm also announced that Gilbert’s role as assistant to the Commissioner is expanding to also encompass the role of legislative liaison and include regulations coordination.
Jenkins will continue to lead the Information and Education Division and help oversee other operational functions of the department, Storm said.
Jenkins has been with Kentucky Fish and Wildlife for 15 years. Before becoming Information and Education Division director three years ago, he served in the Wildlife Division as the Deer and Elk Program Coordinator for five years following seven years as a biologist in the Deer and Elk Program.
“In his time with the department, Gabe has worked across divisions to help promote the state’s deer and elk herds and worked within the (Information and Education) Division on its many different aspects, including 'Kentucky Afield' magazine and TV, hunter education, hunter recruitment, retention and reactivation, conservation education and social media promotions,” Storm said.
Jenkins holds a bachelor’s degree in wildlife management and a master’s degree in fisheries, both from Eastern Kentucky University. He lives in Anderson County with his wife, Brook, and their two children.
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Gilbert holds a bachelor’s degree in political science and communications. She has experience with an advocacy organization, public policy and advisory work and is joint owner in a small business.
Gilbert lives in Franklin County with her husband, Jason, and their three children.
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 Members of the Interim Joint Committee on Tourism, Small Business and Information Technology were briefed Thursday in Frankfort about department activities and various highlights over the past year in a presentation by Commissioner Rich Storm.
Storm was accompanied by Legislative Liaison Jenny Gilbert, Assistant Law Enforcement Division Director Maj. Jeremy McQueary and Deputy Commissioner Gabe Jenkins.
A replay of the presentation is available on YouTube.
 More than 600 people visited the Salato Wildlife Education Center on Sept. 24 for its National Hunting and Fishing Day event.
Admission to the Salato Center was free and the day featured several family-friendly activities. As a bonus, the first 50 children (ages 5-18) through the doors received a complimentary fishing pole or deer call, courtesy of the Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Foundation.
The National Hunting and Fishing Day event served to recognize the contributions to conservation made by Kentucky hunters and anglers, who support 35,000 jobs by their spending each year, but anyone interested in hunting, fishing or wildlife conservation was welcome to join the fun.
In addition to Salato Center staff, employees from multiple divisions assisted either in the days leading up to or on the day of the event, including Sgt. Josh Robinson and Officer Miranda Perry from the Law Enforcement Division and David Baker, Dane Balsman and Jeff Crosby from the Fisheries Division.
As part of its ongoing commitment to monitor Kentucky's wild deer and elk herds for chronic wasting disease, the Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources plans to operate voluntary check stations in two southeastern Kentucky counties on three weekends this November.
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is an always-fatal brain disease that affects deer, elk and other cervids. It has not been detected in Kentucky, but has been found in six of the seven bordering states.
Hunters who harvest a deer or elk in Harlan and Bell counties can bring either the entire carcass (intact or field-dressed) or just the head of the animal to one of the following voluntary check stations on Nov. 12-13, 19-20 and 26-27.
A five-county CWD Surveillance Zone was established in western Kentucky last fall, and special regulations remain in place for those counties (Calloway, Marshall, Graves, Hickman, Fulton). Details are available online at fw.ky.gov and in the current Kentucky Hunting and Trapping Guide.
Read the full release
 Meet Gerald Burnett, a Fish and Wildlife Technician III who has worked with the department for 29 years. He works at Ballard Wildlife Management Area.
Fish and Wildlife Technician positions require a high school diploma or GED, but related experience and training, including college courses, are certainly advantageous.
A fun fact about Gerald: He is an outstanding naturalist, and enjoys studying and photographing lepidopterans (butterflies and moths) and wildflowers.
“Staff Spotlight” introduces the variety of our employees and the breadth of their expertise, as well as the diversity of jobs, programs and initiatives of the department.
To learn more about current employment opportunities with Kentucky Fish and Wildlife, please visit fw.ky.gov/careers.
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