Game, Fish Department director named
The State Game Commission named Michael Sloane director of the Department of Game and Fish on Tuesday, tapping a 24-year veteran of the agency to oversee more than 300 employees, an annual budget of more than $39 million and a lot of New Mexico’s wildlife.
Sloane succeeds Alexa Sandoval, whose plans to retire became public in March.
A graduate of Auburn University, Sloane has a master’s degree in fisheries and allied aquacultures. He began his career with the Department of Game and Fish in 1994, working as a wildlife culturalist at Lisboa Springs Hatchery in Pecos. Sloane went on to work as a wildlife specialist supervisor, assistant chief of fisheries and as chief of fisheries.
The State Game Commission announced in March that it would launch a nationwide search for the department’s next director.
Along with Sloane, the search came down to Christopher Chadwick, assistant director for the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish; Michael Perry, assistant commissioner of field operations for the New Mexico State Land Office; Daryl Ratajczak, Santa Fe National Forest Planning Team wildlife biologist for the U.S. Forest Service; and Matthias Sayer, deputy secretary for the Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department.
The director is paid an annual salary between $99,999 and $120,000, according to the department.