Montana FWP Hires Recreation Management Specialist

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Charlie Sperry, the past Director of Operations for the Henry’s Fork Foundation in Idaho, is the new Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks Recreation Management Specialist. Sperry will direct the public participation and issues analysis needed to manage the recreational use of state waters. Sperry will be a member of the FWP Director’s staff in Helena, and will work closely with the FWP Fisheries and State Parks Divisions.

"Montana is a classic example of a place where people have treasured personal experiences outdoors that they don’t want to see altered," Sperry said. "We can preserve quality outdoor recreational experiences for a variety of users by working together to manage these resources."

In his first months on the job, Sperry will study Montana river recreation issues and existing and potential recreational conflicts. He will facilitate the public’s participation in identifying and analyzing these issues and in drafting policy. Much of his time will also be spent working with watershed and other user groups and with the soon to be established River Recreation Advisory Council. This council will make recommendations and advise the FWP Commission on statewide river recreation management.

Sperry completed a B.S. at Texas A& M and worked at the Lone Mountain Guest Ranch in Big Sky for six years before returning to school at the University of Montana to earn an M.S. in Resource Conservation. Sperry wrote his thesis on collaborative decision-making processes in Montana.

He held positions at the Corporation for the Northern Rockies in Livingston and the Bolle Center for People and Forests in Missoula before joining the Henry’s Fork Foundation in Idaho where he spent the last four years as Stewardship Director and Director of Operations. Sperry was also co-facilitator of the nationally acclaimed Henry’s Fork Watershed Council.

Sperry’s work with the Henry’s Fork Foundation required bringing together a diverse range of public and private interests to keep water in the river for fish, protect upland habitats and resolve recreational conflicts. He was selected as the "Freemont County Man of the Year" in 2001 for his leadership in establishing a greenway along the Henry’s Fork River through the community of St. Anthony, Idaho.

Sperry is an enthusiastic hunter, angler and dog musher.