New Director Appointed To MassWildlife

WESTBOROUGH, MA—There's a new guy at the head of MassWildlife, which is headquartered in Westborough.

The Massachusetts Fisheries and Wildlife Board on July 17 unanimously voted to appoint Mark S. Tisa, Ph.D., M.B.A., to the position of director of the Division of Fisheries and Wildlife (MassWildlife).

“The Fisheries and Wildlife Board has appointed Mark Tisa as the new Director of MassWildlife because of Mark’s lifelong commitment to wildlife and fisheries conservation and his excellent record of service to the agency and the Commonwealth,” Fisheries and Wildlife Board Chair Joseph Larson said in a statement. “The Board looks forward to working closely with Mark to achieve his goals for the agency in the coming years.”

Tisa started in 1987 with MassWildlife as the Project Leader of the Anadromous Fish Restoration Program. He was promoted to Assistant Director of Fisheries in 1990, and then to Deputy Director in 2015. Tisa led a number of major initiatives over the years for the agency, including the Youth Pheasant and Young Adult Turkey hunt programs and the construction of the MassWildlife Field Headquarters’ 45,000-square-foot zero-net-energy building in Westborough, continues the announcement. Upon the retirement of former Director Jack Buckley, he was appointed Acting Director, effective May 1, 2018.

“I am extremely pleased with the Fisheries and Wildlife Board’s appointment of Mark Tisa as Director of the Division of Fisheries and Wildlife,” said Ron Amidon, commissioner of the Department of Fish and Game, in a statement. “I have known and worked with Mark for many years. Both Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Matt Beaton and I look forward to working closely with him as a team of conservation-minded sportsmen committed to the conservation, restoration, and management of all Massachusetts’ incredible natural resources.”

“I’m honored, humbled, and thrilled to be appointed to lead MassWildlife, where I have worked for 31 years," said Director Tisa in a statement. "We at MassWildlife care about all the Commonwealth’s wildlife and plants, including state-listed species, and I look forward to continuing to work with hunters, anglers, trappers, conservationists, and all Massachusetts citizens to carry forward MassWildlife’s tradition of conserving and helping everyone to enjoy all our treasured wildlife resources.”

Director Tisa grew up in Leominster. He earned a B.S. in Biology from Springfield College, an M.S. in fisheries from the University of Tennessee, a Ph.D. in Fisheries and Wildlife Sciences from Virginia Tech, and an MBA from Anna Maria College. Tisa is an avid outdoorsman who enjoys fishing, hunting, shooting, and retriever training.

Photo and information via MassWildlife