The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife has a new leader — and they didn’t have to look beyond the building to find her.

Debbie Colbert, the current deputy director for fish and wildlife programs at ODFW, was picked to lead an agency that oversees 1,200 employees and the state’s vast range of fauna.

Colbert replaces Curt Melcher, who had been director since 2014 and retired in April.

Colbert, 52, of Corvallis, becomes the first woman to ever hold the position in the agency with a history dating back to the 1800s. The vote by the ODFW Commission to appoint her was unanimous.

In many ways Colbert was the safer and more conventional choice between two candidates interviewed on Friday.

In the public question and answer period, Colbert held the line on many of the agency’s hottest topics, including support for hatcheries, the central role of hunting and the challenge of managing the state’s population of wolves.

The job is one of Oregon’s more difficult, often putting the agency in the middle of the state’s urban-rural divide over issues such as wolf and cougar management, hatchery versus wild fish, and the cost for fishing and hunting licenses, among many other issues.

“I think that fish and wildlife are the bridge and not the divide in Oregon,” she said during the public hearing. “We have diverse perspectives but that’s not a bad thing. It means people care. My approach will be to show up, listen and find common ground.”

Colbert expressed a desire to “build a bigger tent” and reach out to Oregonians who didn’t feel as though they have a voice in the agency.

“I am very committed to positioning the agency so it engages all Oregonians,” she said. “Our tent extends to everyone who wants to protect and enhance fish, wildlife and their habitats.”

She also said she would “double down on finding alternative revenue” to support the agency’s finances and mission that went beyond hunting and fishing licenses.

The other candidate interviewed Friday was Kaitlin Lovell. Lovell leads the Portland Bureau of Environmental Services on stream restoration and previously worked for the advocacy group Trout Unlimited. In the public interview, she talked about the need for new ideas that can dust off “stagnation.” She also noted she does not hunt and is vegetarian, but pointed to the ways she’s been able to work with people from all walks of life to get results.

Lovell had become the more controversial candidate on hunting and angling groups on social media, especially given the historical critiques of hatcheries by Trout Unlimited.

Colbert struck a tone that emphasized support for hunting. “If you look at my record and talk to hunters or hunting organizations I’ve worked with, they would tell you I have a deep respect for the connection hunting brings for so many and for their families,” she said.

She also offered support for hatcheries — including new investments in them — which some environmental groups have targeted as a negative in the effort to help native wild fish rebound.

“I do not see a future in which hatcheries are not necessary to meet demand (for fishing) and for conservation,” she said.

Ultimately, she noted that she was looking forward to the job.

“I am honored to be part of this and am so excited about work that agency has ahead of it,” she added.

Debbie Colbert’s background

Colbert has worked for two decades on natural resources issues, according to the biography provided by the hiring committee.  

Since 2021, Colbert has served as ODFW’s deputy director for fish and wildlife programs, overseeing fish, wildlife, habitat, and regional programs statewide as well as legislative engagement.

“In this leadership role, she has been thrilled to collaborate with ODFW’s many talented staff, hunters, anglers, tribal leaders and staff, volunteers, landowners, state and federal agency staff, elected officials, and statewide advocacy groups,” the biography said.

Colbert’s career includes stints in field work as a fish sampler for the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission, as a researcher at sea for several months and studying nutrient cycling in Tillamook Bay. During her time at ODFW, Colbert worked for five years as deputy director for administration and in her current position since 2021 as deputy director for fish and wildlife programs.

Previously, Colbert served six years as the board of trustees administrator at Oregon State University.

Colbert earned a bachelor’s degree in biology and has a master’s in oceanography and a doctorate in interdisciplinary oceanography. She was selected as a 2022 National Conservation Leadership Fellow.

“Debbie is passionate about working with diverse groups to advance Oregon’s fish, wildlife, and habitat,” the biography said.

Zach Urness has been an outdoors reporter in Oregon for 16 years and is host of the Explore Oregon Podcast. Urness is the author of “Best Hikes with Kids: Oregon” and “Hiking Southern Oregon.” He can be reached at zurness@StatesmanJournal.com or (503) 399-6801. Find him on X at @ZachsORoutdoors.