HARRISBURG, PA - Peter F. Sussenbach, a longtime Pennsylvania Game Commission employee who recently served as director for the agency’s Bureau of Wildlife Habitat Management has become director of the Southeast Region Office in Reading, filling the vacancy created when former region director David Mitchell was promoted to deputy executive director in Harrisburg.
Game Commission Executive Director Bryan Burhans said Sussenbach’s extensive background made him the perfect candidate to fill the position.
“In terms of his experience and leadership skills, Pete has it all,” Burhans said. “Beginning his career with the Game Commission at the training school, and later transitioning from a seasoned field officer to a supervisory position responsible for managing more than 370,000 acres of state game lands across 13 counties in northeastern Pennsylvania, and then the entire state as the Wildlife Habitat Management Bureau Director, Pete has worked with and directed hundreds of employees within and outside the Game Commission, and interacted with countless hunters and trappers.”
Sussenbach entered the Ross Leffler School of Conservation in 1999, having served for two years as a deputy waterways conservation officer with the state Fish and Boat Commission. He graduated in March 2000 as part of the 25th Class and was assigned to Monroe County.
Sussenbach twice was the recipient of the Fish and Wildlife Law Enforcement Officer Award for the Northeast Region, in 2001 and 2006, and he was named winner of the Environmental Partnership Award in 2013. He helped in the Northeast Region to open more than 25,000 acres of private land to public hunting, and coordinated several multi-agency law-enforcement operations to curtail poaching and other unlawful activities. He became director of the Bureau of Wildlife Habitat Management in 2015, and Southeast Region Director in June 2021.
Sussenbach lives in his native Blakeslee, where he spends much of his free time in the outdoors with wife Kelly and son Jebadiah. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Montclair State University.
“It is an honor to have the opportunity to use my experience in serving the citizens of the Southeast Region,” Sussenbach said. “I’m looking forward to working with the passionate and dedicated staff in this highly populated region of the state.”
Sussenbach said that providing quality wildlife habitat, hunting opportunities and educational outreach remains a top priority for the region.
MEDIA CONTACT: Travis Lau - 717-705-6541![]( "Call: 717-705-6541")
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