(Washington, DC) – The National Fish Habitat Board (Board) welcomed three new members during their February 16-17, 2022 meeting. As part of these proceedings, the Board selected two Tribal representatives, Adam Ringia and Karen Linnell, and completed seating the Board.

Adam Ringia serves as a Water Rights Office Manager for the Pueblo of Laguna and the Executive Director of the Southwest Tribal Fisheries Commission, a non-profit organization that seeks to promote the fisheries and watershed issues of its 19 member tribes throughout the Southwest. He has experience as a field biologist, federal law enforcement officer, teacher, supervisor, program manager, and department director. He previously served on the National Fish Habitat Board in 2020 as a Tribal representative.

Karen Linnell, appointed to the other Tribal seat, is Tlingit and Ahtna Athabascan. Linnell has been the Executive Director of Ahtna Intertribal Resource Commission (AITRC) since 2015. AITRC is a Tribal and Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act corporation sanctioned non-profit organization focused on land stewardship and honoring traditional culture and values of subsistence hunting and fishing. She is a traditional fisher, hunter, gatherer and has served on numerous local, regional, state, and nationwide councils, boards, and commissions, including the State Board of Game. The term for both Tribal seats is three years and expires in 2025.

“We were pleased to be able to seat two members representing Tribes to our National Fish Habitat Board during our February 16 meeting based on recommendations from the Secretary of the Interior,” said Ed Schriever, Chairman of the National Fish Habitat Board. “We are looking forward to working with both Adam and Karen and are pleased to have our Board complete with these appointments. Tribal representation on our Board is critical as Tribal governments and commissions work diligently to conserve aquatic resources on many millions of acres, and we value having Tribes represented and Tribal interests incorporated into our mission to protect, restore, and enhance fish habitat across the U.S.”

In addition to the Tribal seats, the Midwest Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (MAFWA) appointed Pat Rivers, Deputy Director of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, to fill their seat on the Board on February 1. Pat joins the Board with much previous National Fish Habitat Partnership (NFHP) expertise as a former coordinator for the Midwest Glacial Lake Partnership. Mr. Rivers replaced Doug Nygren, Chief of Fisheries, Kansas Department of Parks and Wildlife. Nygren is retiring following a long career in

Kansas, which included valued service to the Board and Partnerships. The MAFWA term on the Board runs through February 2025.

Resources and Presentations from the February meeting of the National Fish habitat Board can be found, Here. The Board next meets on April 26-27, 2022.

About the National Fish Habitat Partnership:
Since 2006, the National Fish Habitat Partnership has supported1,115 projects benefiting fish habitat in all 50 states. The National Fish Habitat Partnership works to conserve fish habitat nationwide, leveraging federal, state, tribal, and private funding resources to achieve the greatest impact on fish populations through priority conservation projects of 20 regionally-based Fish Habitat Partnerships. For more information, visit http://fishhabitat.org/news.

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