For Immediate Release: Wednesday, November 26, 2025
Contact:
Justin Hayes, Executive Director, (208) 345.6933 x 224
Brad Smith, Conservation Director, (208) 345.6933 x 403
Leadership Transition Underway at the Idaho Conservation League
Boise, ID — After seven successful years as Executive Director of the Idaho Conservation League (ICL), Justin Hayes has announced that he will be leaving the organization to pursue the next chapter of his career dedicated to environmental protection.
Hayes first joined ICL nearly twenty-five years ago as a Program Director, managing a range of conservation and environmental initiatives. In 2018, following the retirement of longtime Executive Director Rick Johnson, Hayes was selected to lead the organization.
As Executive Director, Hayes guided ICL through the adoption of two new strategic plans, launched new programs focused on wildlife and North Idaho lakes and waters, strengthened ICL’s community engagement and external relations teams, increased revenues and improved financial performance, and opened a new field office in McCall. He also cultivated an organizational culture grounded in the values of diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice.
“Serving as Executive Director has been incredibly rewarding for me,” said Hayes. “But it has also meant spending less time personally doing the conservation work that first drew me to this field. At 57, I’m not ready to retire—but I can see it on the horizon. As I’ve reflected on how I want to spend the final phase of my career, I’ve realized that I want to be back on the ground, as a staffer, doing work focused on the rivers and fish that have always inspired me.”
Hayes has accepted a position as the North Rockies Conservation Director for American Rivers, where he will oversee efforts to protect and restore wild, free-flowing rivers in Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming.
ICL will begin the search for its next Executive Director in the coming months. In the interim, Conservation Director Brad Smith will serve as Interim Executive Director.
“Justin has been an exceptional leader for ICL, and he will be deeply missed,” said Smith. “We’re grateful for all he has accomplished and wish him the very best in his next chapter. Thanks to Justin’s dedication and vision, he leaves ICL in a strong and stable position for our next executive director.”
Founded in 1973, the Idaho Conservation League works to build a conservation community and advance pragmatic, enduring solutions that protect the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the lands and wildlife we love. The organization employs twenty-four staff, and its seven strategic priorities include protecting Idaho’s public lands, recovering wild salmon and steelhead, conserving native wildlife, confronting climate change, cleaning up the Snake River, safeguarding North Idaho lakes and waters, and reducing pollution.
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