Governor Tony Evers has appointed current Sheboygan County Administrator Adam Payne to be the next Secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources effective on January 3, 2023.
The announcement was made just before noon on Tuesday, and fills the vacancy created when former Secretary Preston D. Cole announced his retirement. Cole was appointed by Governor Scott Walker, and after continuing his tenure under Governor Evers announced his retirement from the position last month. Payne had announced this past year that he would be stepping aside as Sheboygan County Administrator to take a position in March with the Wisconsin Counties Association. Payne did not indicate in today’s announcement how the appointment as DNR Secretary would affect that move.
In announcing the appointment, Governor Evers said that “Adam has deep Wisconsin roots and understands that our vast and valuable resources – from our waterways to our farmlands – are core to who we are as a people and a state.” He continued, “He is an outdoorsman, a conservationist, and has been a strong, successful leader for Sheboygan County. I know he will bring that same dedication and spirit of service to this role as secretary.
Payne had been called to Madison to meet with the Governor on Tuesday, December 20th, and during an interview with WHBL later that afternoon didn’t revealed the nature of the meeting, saying only that ‘when the Governor calls, you answer’.
In accepting the Governor’s appointment, Payne said that it was an honor to accept it, and added that “I have always had a passion for protecting and enhancing our natural resources and am an avid outdoorsman. I look forward to working with a strong and diverse team of DNR staff, the Board and its many partners and stakeholders to problem-solve, protect, and enhance our natural resources for people today and for generations to come.”
As is the Governor, Payne is also from Plymouth, where he raised his family and as a boy, worked on his grandmother’s farm. During his time as county administrator, Payne led Sheboygan County through two major conservation projects, including cleaning up the Sheboygan River and Harbor and purchasing and preserving the Amsterdam Dunes, which encompasses 328 acres of undeveloped shoreline along Lake Michigan.
Payne has bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in Communications and Urban and Regional Planning, respectively.
editors note: An earlier version of this story had referenced the refusal of a DNR Board member, appointed by Scott Walker, to step down from the board, and in error, had identified Preston Cole as that person. That was incorrect as the board member was Fred Prehn, who did resign last week. We regret the error.
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