Hunter Roberts assumed office on April 19 as secretary of the newly-formed South Dakota Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources. Governor Kristi Noem (R) appointed Roberts to the position in August 2020.
The Department of Agriculture and Department of Environment and Natural Resources officially merged on April 19. Noem had announced her intention to combine the two departments last August and signed an executive order establishing the new department on Jan. 19, 2021. He had served as the state’s secretary of environment and natural resources since 2019.
Roberts was appointed interim secretary of agriculture in September 2020 and served in both roles until the departments merged in April 2021. South Dakota also has an elected state office—commissioner of school and public lands—that is responsible for supervising lands designated for educational use by the federal government.
Agriculture commissioners are elected in 12 states and appointed in 38, while natural resources commissioners are appointed in 44 states and elected in five. Of those five states, three—Arkansas, New Mexico, and South Dakota—have both an appointed and elected officeholder responsible for managing natural resources. Wyoming is the only state without a natural resources commissioner.
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