Adam Payne
WISCONSIN (WTAQ) — Gov. Tony Evers on Tuesday announced his appointment of Adam N. Payne to serve as secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) effective Jan. 3, 2022. The appointment fills the vacancy created by former Secretary Preston D. Cole’s retirement.
Payne currently serves as the county administrator for Sheboygan County, a position he has held for more than two decades. During his time as county administrator, Payne led the County through two major conservation projects, including cleaning up the Sheboygan River and Harbor, and purchasing and preserving the Amsterdam Dunes, which encompasses 328 acres of undeveloped shoreline along Lake Michigan.
Prior to serving as county administrator, Payne was the executive director of the Wisconsin Land and Water Conservation Association and served for five years at the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection from 1990 to 1995, including as the director of the Farmland Preservation Program.
Payne is from Plymouth, where he raised his family and as a boy, worked on his grandmother’s farm. Originally from Stevens Point, Payne grew up learning how to fish, trap, and hunt from his father along the Wisconsin River, and as an active outdoorsman to this day.
Payne has bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in Communications and Urban and Regional Planning, respectively.
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