WILLIAM F. HARTWIG

Highlights

• An expert in federal land acquisition, natural resource management and administration
• Led the Interior Department’s negotiating team on the largest land-swap in the Department’s history, the 150,000-acre “Collier Exchange”  (1981-89)
• Led the Interior Department’s negotiation team involved in settling the Fox River (WI) Superfund settlement, one of the most expensive superfund sites in the U.S. 
  

Biography

Bill Hartwig has more than three decades experience in the complex fields of federal land acquisition and management issues.  As Chief of the National Wildlife Refuge System at the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service from 2003 to 2006, Bill directed a nationwide program involving 100 million acres and supervised an immediate staff of 100.

Prior to that, for nearly a decade, Bill was Director of Great Lakes-Big Rivers Region.  With a staff of 1,000 throughout the Great Lakes region, he managed a $250 million operating budget, which included matching funds from partner organizations, and led Interior Department negotiation teams involved with federal, state, and Indian tribal land issues.

During Bill’s tenure, he was Interior’s lead staff person for the largest land exchange in the Department’s history: the “Collier Exchange” involving the federal government’s acquisition of 150,000 acres for the Big Cypress (FL) National Preserve, the Ten Thousand Islands National Wildlife Refuge and Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge.

He was also involved in negotiating the Potlatch Exchange involving more than 60,000 acres in Arkansas and led the Interior Department’s negotiation team involved in the Fox River Superfund clean-up site in Wisconsin.

Bill’s 33-year career also includes several years as Deputy Assistant Director and Assistant Director for Refuges and Wildlife at the Fish and Wildlife Service.

Prior to his distinguished civilian career, Bill served in Vietnam as an active duty U.S. Army Field Artillery Officer and Ranger Advisor to the South Vietnamese Army. 

Bill holds a B.S. from West Virginia University and a M.S. in Public Administration from the George Washington University.