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The Deputy Commissioner assists the Commissioner and provides oversight to the agency’s seven divisions as they help to carry out the mission of the department. The Deputy Commissioner also works closely with the department’s senior leadership team, staff, Commission, and other stakeholders in developing internal and public policy.
Gabe Jenkins was named Deputy Commissioner for the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources in 2022.
Gabe was raised on a working farm in rural Ohio, where his interest in farming, hunting, and fishing was cultivated. As a youth, he volunteered with local biologists capturing deer fawns, assisting in wild turkey and ruffed grouse surveys and stream fish sampling. He later went on to attend Eastern Kentucky University and earn a Bachelor’s degree in wildlife management and a Master’s degree in biology with an emphasis in fisheries management.
Gabe started with the department in 2007 as a biologist in the deer and elk program and was promoted in 2014 to Deer and Elk Program Coordinator. While working within the deer and elk program, he worked on various aspects of deer and elk management, wildlife diseases, elk translocation and research. In 2019 he joined the Information and Education Division as its director after 12 years in the Wildlife Division. In his role, he worked across division lines to help further the agency and its programs through communications, including “Kentucky Afield” magazine and TV, hunter/angler recruitment, retention and reactivation (R3); and conservation education in the schools and through the department’s summer conservation camps.
Gabe loves the resources of our beautiful commonwealth and is also passionate about serving the department's staff and its many stakeholders. He has served on various regional and national committees and working groups aimed at deer and elk management, wildlife diseases, conservation education, and increasing participation in outdoor activities. Gabe is an avid hunter, recreational shooter, angler and mentor. He currently lives on a small farm in central Kentucky with his wife and their two children.