Mr. Manson oversees the United States Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Parks Service.  He is responsible for 388 National Parks and 542 National Wildlife Refuges covering a total of 178 million acres in the continental United States, Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Guam, the Virgin Islands, and American Somoa.  He is responsible for about 30,000 employees, 140,000 volunteers, and a budget of about $3 billion. He has responsibility for administration and enforcement of the Endangered Species Act.  He represents the Secretary of the Interior on various boards, commissions, and task forces.

Mr. Manson previously served as a judge of the Superior Court of California in Sacramento from 1998 to 2002.  Prior to that, he was General Counsel of the California Department of Fish and Game from 1993 to 1998.  He practiced law in Sacramento from 1989 to 1993.

A graduate of the United States Air Force Academy, Mr. Manson served on active duty in the Air Force from 1976 to 1989.  He is presently a colonel in the Air Force Reserve.  His military awards include the Legion of Merit and the Meritorious Service Medal with one oak leaf cluster.

Mr. Manson received his law degree with great distinction from the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law, where he was named Outstanding Graduating Senior, served as Editor-in-Chief of the Pacific Law Review, and was elected to the Order of the Coif.  From 1993 to 2001, Mr. Manson was a faculty member at McGeorge.

Mr. Manson and his wife Margarett Penny Manson, reside in McLean, VA.