Gun rights advocate Ronald Amidon named Massachusetts fish & game commissioner

Posted by Wayne G. Barber

Ron Amidon posed with a fresh catch on a fishing excursion. Amidon, an avid sportsman, will be the state's next fish and game commissioner.(Courtesy EEA)

Gun rights advocate and sportsman Ronald Amidon will take over as the Baker administration's fish and game commissioner.
Amidon is president of the Gun Owners Action League (GOAL) and has worked on identifying "cold water refuges for trout and the restoration of upland bird habitat," according to the Baker administration, which on Wednesday announced Amidon's appointment and the retirement of commissioner George Peterson Jr.
"Ron's been around the sporting and outdoor world for an awful long time," GOAL Executive Director James Wallace told the News Service. He said, "He's certainly got his heart into it."
The Templeton resident will succeed Peterson, a U.S. Army veteran who spent about two decades in the House as a Grafton Republican, rising to the position of assistant minority leader. Peterson previously worked as a commercial fisherman.

The Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs credited Peterson with preserving land, assisting the commercial fishing industry with an industry-based survey, and leading construction of a water pipeline and hydropower turbine at the McLaughlin Fish Hatchery in Belchertown.
Amidon's professional experience is in construction management, according to the Baker administration.
For the past few years Amidon has been working at McCourt Construction as a construction superintendent on the Whittier Bridge project along Interstate 95, according to Steve Frick, vice president of operations at McCourt. Frick said Amidon has worked for the company for four years.
A LinkedIn profile for Amidon said he was general manager for Deloury Construction, where he overhauled business processes. The profile said he had management positions at The Case Companies, J. Derenzo Construction, and Marois Bros. in addition to starting his own company.
Wallace said GOAL will hold a meeting soon to select a new president, and he said Amidon has held the top position for less than a year.
"Ron knows the Commonwealth's fisheries and wildlife as well as land protection responsibilities, and I look forward to working with him to continue the Baker-Polito Administration's support of the Commonwealth's wildlife, open spaces, and outdoor educational programs," Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Matt Beaton said in a statement.

Source:By State House News Service