More rumors of senior turnover at WI DNR

I'd been nearing since November that Deputy DNR Secretary Matt Moroney would leave his post, and sources report that he may be heading for a senior managerial position in Scott Walker's office, perhaps in a new or renamed job to keep the office running smoothly and in sync with the Walker campaign while Walker is out on the hustings.

Would also make sense since the DNR is being severely downgraded in Walker's budget, so Moroney''s legal, policy and bureaucratic expertise would be more or less wasted there as time goes on.

The DNR's web page carrying senior executives' bios has not been updated since June, 2014, although Scott Gunderson transferred to the Department of Revenue in early February.

Secretary Cathy Stepp

Secretary Cathy Stepp

Secretary Cathy Stepp served as Racine's State Senator from 2002 to 2006, but most of her professional experience has been in the private sector. As a former homebuilder, she became aware of Wisconsin's regulatory climate and how it affected small business owners. In 1998, Governor-Tommy Thompson asked her to bring this perspective to the Natural Resources Board, and she served on the Board for three years. That experience led her to run for the Wisconsin State Legislature where she was chairman of the Senate Job Creation Committee and co-chair of the Environment and Natural Resources Committee. She chose not to seek re-election and returned home at the end of the four year term to rejoin her husband in her family business.

Stepp notes her administration is concentrating on improving DNR's customer relations and streamlining and simplifying permitting to accomplish Gov. Scott Walker's goals to create jobs in Wisconsin. She believes job creation and environmental protection are mutually supportive.

Stepp enjoys Wisconsin's snowmobile trails each winter. She has also hunted turkeys in western Wisconsin and is proud of the tremendous hunting opportunities our state offers to residents and tourists. She enjoys spending time outdoors with her husband, Paul, and two children.

Deputy Secretary Matt Moroney

Matt Moroney

Deputy Secretary Matt Moroney was raised on a small family farm outside of Masonville, Iowa, where he fished and was a trapper. He graduated from Loras College in 1991 with a major in Political Science and Economics. He graduated the University of Iowa College of Law in 1994. He has been attorney at DeWitt Ross and Stevens the past two years, and was previously the Executive Director of the Metropolitan Builders Association of Greater Milwaukee.

As Deputy, Moroney oversees the day-to-day operations of the agency. He enjoys playing basketball, fishing and spending time with family and friends. He lives in Waukesha with his wife, Linda, and their two children.

Assistant Deputy Secretary Scott Gunderson

Scott Gunderson

Assistant Deputy Secretary Scott Gunderson grew up on a farm in Racine County. He owned and operated a hunting and fishing store in Wind Lake for 27 years. For the past 16 years, he represented the 83rd District in the Wisconsin State Assembly. He served on the Assembly Natural Resources Committee all 8 legislative sessions, serving as vice chairman and for four years as chairman. He authored the state's constitutional amendment protecting the right to hunt, fish and trap, and negotiated legislative approval of the Great Lakes Water Resources Compact to protect the interests of Wisconsin's residents and industries.

As the Assistant Deputy Secretary, Gunderson is the internal lead in fishing and wildlife-related issues and is working to build DNR's relationship with the Legislature. He lives in Waterford with his wife, Lisa, and is the father of three adult children.