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Brian Nesvik was born and raised in Casper and Cheyenne, Wyoming. While still in high school, he enlisted in the Army National Guard as a flight operations specialist. Four years later, he attended officer candidate school and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the field artillery. He graduated from the University of Wyoming in 1994 with a BS in Wildlife and Fisheries Biology and Management.  

In 1995, he was selected by the Wyoming Game and Fish Department to serve as a wildlife law enforcement technician and later a game warden where he focused on enforcing wildlife laws, collecting important wildlife biological data, dealing with wildlife/human conflict, and managing wildlife. He spent much of his time patrolling some of the most remote and wild parts of Wyoming.

Brian simultaneously continued his military career and in 2004 was charged with commanding a 180-soldier Wyoming unit as they deployed to combat operations in Baghdad, Iraq. Following this successful tour, Brian took command of the 2nd Battalion, 300th Field Artillery and deployed again to Kuwait and Southern Iraq in 2009. Upon his return from this deployment, he was selected to command the 115th Field Artillery Brigade

In 2010, Brian was promoted to serve as the Cody Regional Wildlife Supervisor. In 2011, he was promoted to serve as the state’s Chief Game Warden, a position he would hold for eight years.  At the same time, he served as the Chief of the Division of Wildlife and was responsible for the management and protection of all the state’s terrestrial wildlife resources.

In 2016, he earned an MS in Strategic Studies from the United States Army War College.

In 2018, Brian was promoted to the rank of Brigadier General and charged with commanding Wyoming’s Army National Guard and serving as the Assistant Adjutant General. In this role, he was responsible for ensuring the combat readiness of Wyoming’s Army Guard units. After 35 years of service, he retired from the military in 2021.

In March 2019, Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon appointed Brian as the Director of the Wyoming Game and Fish Department. In this role, he dealt with some of the state’s most complex and controversial issues including recovering species listed under the Endangered Species Act and preventing others from being listed, big game migration corridor policy, invasive species invasive species
An invasive species is any plant or animal that has spread or been introduced into a new area where they are, or could, cause harm to the environment, economy, or human, animal, or plant health. Their unwelcome presence can destroy ecosystems and cost millions of dollars.

Learn more about invasive species , and wildlife disease.

In September 2024, Brian retired from the Wyoming Game and Fish Department after nearly 30 years of service. He and his wife started their own ranching operation on his wife’s long-term family ranch near Glendo, WY where he was able to leverage three decades of experience to implement habitat projects including the reduction of invasive annual grass, installing wildlife friendly fencing, and reducing conifer encroachment.

In February 2025, President Donald Trump nominated Brian to serve as the 19th Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. He was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on August 1, 2025 and assumed the leadership role on August 18, 2025.

Brian is married to his wife of 27 years and has three children and three grandchildren. He enjoys spending time with his family hunting, fishing, ranching, boating, and horseback riding.