Gov. Kay Ivey has announced the retirement of Chris Blankenship as commissioner of the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and appointed Ben Stimpson to fill the role for the remainder of the year.
Blankenship has served as ADCNR commissioner since 2017. He retires with more than 30 years inside the department, having started in 1994 as a conservation enforcement officer in the Marine Resources Division.
Stimpson is set to begin as commissioner Oct. 1.
A Career That Started on Charter Boats
Blankenship’s connection to the coast predates his state career by a considerable margin.
His family moved to Mobile when he was 3, and he grew up on Dauphin Island, where he began working on charter boats at 14. He graduated from the University of South Alabama with a degree in political science and criminal justice.
Before Ivey elevated him to commissioner, Gov. Robert Bentley had appointed him deputy commissioner earlier in 2017.
That trajectory — from a teenager working the docks on a barrier island, to an enforcement officer in the division that regulates those same waters, to the cabinet position overseeing the entire department — is unusual in state government, where agency heads are more often appointed from outside the agencies they lead.
‘Chris Has Been at the Front of That Mission’
Ivey praised Blankenship’s tenure in announcing the change.
“For Alabama to remain ‘Alabama the Beautiful,’ we must prioritize our great outdoors and abundant natural resources. The Ivey Administration has made historic progress to do just that, and Chris has been at the front of that mission since day one,” Ivey said. “I congratulate him on a job well-done, and I know he has a lot left to give. I am confident our state will continue benefiting from his contributions in the years ahead.”
Blankenship, in turn, credited the governor.
“I would like to thank Governor Ivey for giving me the opportunity to serve as Conservation Commissioner. It has been an honor, and I was blessed to be part of the Ivey Administration for the past nine-plus years,” Blankenship said. “Truly, I believe there is no governor who has done more for the state’s conservation efforts than Governor Kay Ivey. I am confident that we are leaving the agency and our resources better than we found them and I will be watching for more good work during the remainder of Governor Ivey’s term.”
What the Tenure Produced
Under Ivey and Blankenship’s leadership, Alabama State Parks received upgrades exceeding $350 million, and the department undertook more than 50 boating access projects on waterways across the state.
The department also brought in more than $318 million from the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act and managed more than $1.27 billion in completed oil spill recovery projects in coastal Alabama.
Those last two figures deserve a moment of explanation, because they represent the defining financial story of coastal conservation in Alabama over the past decade and a half.
GOMESA directs a share of federal revenue from offshore oil and gas leasing back to the Gulf states, with the money restricted to coastal conservation, restoration, hurricane protection and related purposes. It is a recurring stream rather than a one-time settlement.
The oil spill recovery money is different in origin. It flows from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster and the settlements that followed, funding restoration projects across the Gulf. Managing more than a billion dollars of that work — marsh creation, breakwaters, boat ramps, land acquisition, water quality projects — through completion has been a substantial share of what ADCNR has done on the coast during Blankenship’s tenure.
Who Ben Stimpson Is
Stimpson most recently served on the Conservation Advisory Board, the body that makes recommendations to the commissioner on hunting, fishing and wildlife regulations. His seat there has since been filled by John “Bo” Cross, owner and CEO of Gulf Coast Truck & Equipment Co. Inc.
Stimpson’s background is largely in forestry and industrial operations. He is the former director of corporate operations for Scotch Gulf and Canfor Southern Pine, giving him experience across a range of environmental and land management fields.
He has also served in a number of appointed and board roles, including as chairman of the Alabama State Port Authority in 2023, and has been part of the Alabama Wildlife Federation and the Southeastern Lumberman’s Manufacturers Association.
That combination is a recognizable profile for the job. ADCNR’s responsibilities span state parks, marine resources, wildlife and freshwater fisheries, and lands — a portfolio that sits at the intersection of recreation, commercial resource industries and conservation.
‘Among Our State’s Greatest Treasures’
Stimpson framed his appointment around stewardship.
“I am honored and humbled by the opportunity to serve Governor Kay Ivey and the people of Alabama as Commissioner of the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources,” Stimpson said. “Alabama’s natural resources and outdoor heritage are among our state’s greatest treasures, and I look forward to working with the dedicated men and women of the Department to protect and preserve them for future generations.”
He added: “I am grateful to Governor Ivey for the confidence she has placed in me and look forward to serving her Administration and our state.”
Ivey said she expects continuity.
“I am proud to have someone of Ben’s caliber joining the Ivey Administration and know we will continue to make improvements in the area of conservation in the months ahead,” she said.
What the Change Means for the Coast
The appointment covers the remainder of the year, which places the transition against the end of Ivey’s term. For coastal Alabama specifically, the open questions are practical ones: the pace of remaining oil spill restoration work, the continued use of GOMESA funds, and the management decisions that govern the state’s marine fisheries.
Stimpson takes over Oct. 1.