After a lengthy search, Jim Karpowitz was named new director of the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources on Monday.

Karpowitz has been with the DWR for 26 years, most of those years working in the area of big game.

He fills a position that was left vacant in September of 2004 with the death of then-director Kevin Conway.

Karpowitz steps into the new position at a critical period in the agency's history. Among the issues facing him will be a rash of new appointments. A large influx of DWR staff back in the 1970s and recent changes in retirement benefits has resulted in a large number of experienced veterans announcing planned retirements within the next two years.

It was announced earlier this year that at least eight of the top biologists in the area of fisheries, with more than 150 years of combined experience, will be leaving before the end of the year.

Karpowitz said he is well aware of the personnel changes, "and I know this is going to be a real challenge.

The good thing is we have good people out there and around the state, good biologists that can fill those positions.

"My job will be to coax them into an administrative position probably sooner than they expected. We have great fisheries here in Utah, much better than when I first started (with the DWR). We simply need to build on what we now have."

He pointed out that while his background is in the area of big game, "I'm an avid fishermen. I focused on big game because that was my job. Whatever my job has been, I've proven I can do the job. As people get to know me, they'll find I have their interest at heart."

Karpowitz was a late, surprise candidate, his name cropping up as a possible director only within the past two weeks, although he entered the race at the onset.

Mike Styler, executive director of the Department of Natural Resources, which oversees the wildlife agency, said that after a 30-day national search, there were 20 viable candidates, including four from within the agency and two from out of the country. This field was narrowed to seven, and eventually down to two — Karpowitz and acting-director Miles Moretti.

"Either candidate could have filled the position. For me, it was a gut-wrenching decision, but Jim shared the same vision I have (for the DWR). My vision is to create more resources. I believe we can have more for everyone — non-consumptive users, anglers and big game hunters," he explained.

Karpowitz's biggest challenge in the immediate future, said one DWR official who asked not to be identified, will be to show "fishermen and non-consumptive users his programs will not be all about big game."