Brian Yablonski
Brian Yablonski is the chief executive officer of the Property and Environment Research Center (PERC). Located in Bozeman, Montana, PERC is the nation’s leading organization for bringing market and incentive-based solutions to conservation.
Through its research, Law and Policy Center, and Conservation Innovation Lab, PERC is at the forefront of national conservation issues ranging from national parks management and national forests restoration, elk migrations on ranchlands, endangered species recovery, Great Salt Lake conservation, and market-based private land stewardship. Under Brian’s leadership, PERC has pioneered innovative conservation tools such as elk occupancy agreements, wildlife disease compensation funds, “payment for presence” programs, grizzly bear grazing agreements, virtual fencing, wild horse adoption incentive payments, and conservation leasing on public lands. Brian regularly contributes commentary on conservation topics to outlets such as The Wall Street Journal, The Hill, C-SPAN’s Washington Journal, NPR’s Morning Edition, the Chicago Tribune, Mountain Journal, and Outdoor Life.
Before moving to Montana, Brian served as chairman of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), the state agency charged with conserving and managing Florida’s wildlife and marine resources. With 14 years on the commission, he was one of Florida’s longest tenured wildlife commissioners. His work on both coastal bird species conservation and a state constitutional amendment to provide property tax relief for private land conservation earned awards from Audubon and the Florida Wildlife Federation.
Brian is currently on the board of the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership and a professional member of the Boone and Crockett Club, the nation’s oldest wildlife conservation organization. Early in his career, Brian was the policy director and deputy chief of staff for Florida Governor Jeb Bush, where he helped craft the administration’s major initiatives, including Everglades restoration and the Florida Forever conservation program.
From 1989 to 1990, Brian worked in the West Wing of the White House as a personal staff assistant to President George H.W. Bush, providing support directly to the President and the immediate office of the President. He also served as the White House Horseshoe Commissioner.
He is married to his wife, Kimberley, and has two children, Madison and Connor. An avid outdoorsman, Brian splits his time between Bozeman and a cabin in Emigrant, Montana, where he enjoys hiking, hunting, skiing, and fly fishing.
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