Pat Ruble, for 21 years the Executive Administrator for the Wildlife Management and Research Section of the Ohio Division of Wildlife, will join the Wildlife Management Institute in July, as the Institute's Midwest Field Representative.

Since his retirement from the Ohio Division of Wildlife in 2002, Pat served as program coordinator for the Terrestrial Wildlife Ecology Lab, Ohio State University School of Natural Resources until 2004, and then until present as director of government relations for the Bowhunting Preservation Alliance and Arrowsport foundations.

Pat earned both B.S. and M.S. degrees in wildlife management from Ohio State University. Over the years, in addition to his management and administrative work for the Ohio Division of Wildlife, he has served at different times on 10 committees of the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, worked extensively with the Midwest Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, and such initiatives as the Mourning Dove Eastern Management Unit, Southern James Bay Canada Goose Committee and Lower Great Lakes Management Board.

Pat brings a wealth of experience and expertise to the Midwest field representative role for WMI. He will be involved in a variety of matters, ranging from the region's Cooperative Wildlife Research Units, to CWD, to waterfowl and wetlands issues, and, primarily for the immediate future, the 2007 Farm Bill. He is a welcome addition to the now-complete WMI field contingent, which includes Scot Williamson (Northeast, and Vice President), Don McKenzie (Southeast, and Northern Bobwhite Conservation Initiative coordinator), Len Carpenter (Southwest) and Bob Davison (Northwest).

"We are very pleased to welcome Pat aboard," said Steve Williams, President of WMI. "His professional credentials and contacts in the Midwest and at the national level are impressive. With the addition of Pat, we look forward to strengthening our partnerships with state fish and wildlife agencies and conservation organizations in the Midwest."