WASHINGTON, D.C. - April 28, 2017 - Ducks Unlimited (DU), a leader in wetlands and waterfowl conservation, looks forward to working with David L. Bernhardt, who was nominated by President Trump today to serve as the new Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI), the department in charge of managing and conserving public land and natural resources in the United States. Bernhardt will serve under recently appointed Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke.

"I have known and worked with David Bernhardt for more than 10 years and could not be more pleased with his nomination for Deputy Secretary of the Interior," said Ducks Unlimited CEO Dale Hall. "He is a man with personal and professional integrity that is beyond reproach and has always advocated for the proper implementation of the law. We urge the Senate to quickly confirm Mr. Bernhardt for this extremely important position to the Department's expansive conservation responsibilities."

In 2006, Bernhardt was unanimously confirmed by the Senate to serve as the solicitor of the DOI. As solicitor, Bernhardt was the chief legal officer and third ranking official for the DOI.

Prior to serving as solicitor, he held several high-level positions with the DOI including Deputy Solicitor, Deputy Chief of Staff, Counselor to the Secretary of the Interior and Director of the Office of Congressional and Legislative Affairs.

In 2007, in addition to his DOI duties, Bernhardt was appointed by President George W. Bush to lead the International Boundary Commission between the United States and Canada where Bernhardt was responsible, along with his Canadian counterpart, for maintaining the 5,525-mile international boundary between these two nations.

Ducks Unlimited Inc. is the world's largest nonprofit organization dedicated to conserving North America's continually disappearing waterfowl habitats. Established in 1937, Ducks Unlimited has conserved more than 14 million acres thanks to contributions from more than a million supporters across the continent. Guided by science and dedicated to program efficiency, DU works toward the vision of wetlands sufficient to fill the skies with waterfowl today, tomorrow and forever. For more information on our work, visit www.ducks.org.

Media Contact:
Gregg Powers
901-758-3774
gpowers@ducks.org