Fredericks is currently a deputy director and has spent his entire professional career at Fish and Game
The Idaho Fish and Game Commission has extended an offer to Jim Fredericks to serve as the new director of Idaho Fish and Game. Fredericks has been a deputy director for Fish and Game since 2021 and is a former fisheries bureau chief.
Fredericks, 58, was raised in Moscow since grade school, graduated from University of Idaho with a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s degree in fishery resources. He has spent his entire professional career with Idaho Fish and Game.
“We are both proud and privileged to have Jim Fredericks as our next director,” Fish and Game Commission Chair Tim Murphy said. “He has had a successful career with Fish and Game, and we look forward to working with him in the future to manage Idaho’s valuable wildlife.”
Fredericks started his professional career in 1994 as a fisheries research biologist before moving up through the ranks as a regional fisheries biologist and regional fisheries manager in the Upper Snake and Panhandle regions. He was promoted to fisheries bureau chief at the Boise Headquarters in 2015 before becoming a deputy director.
“I would say this is a dream come true, but this is beyond my dreams,” Fredericks said. “My dream was to work for Fish and Game, and I am humbled to be named director.”
The Fish and Game director is the sole employee of the seven-member Fish and Game Commission, and Fredericks will start on Feb. 19. The director carries out wildlife management policies set by the commission and runs the day-to-day operations of the agency, which has about 553 full-time positions and an annual budget of $150 million.
Fredericks will replace Ed Schriever, who announced his retirement from the department after a 39-year career at Fish and Game, including serving as director since Jan. 2019.