Curt Fransen, director of the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality since February 2012, will retire on May 22, Gov. Butch Otter announced today; Otter said he’s in the process of finding a successor.  “While perhaps there is no good time for a director to retire, DEQ’s structure, staff and performance are sound and DEQ is prepared to address the significant challenges it faces in the coming years,” Fransen wrote in a letter informing Otter of his retirement plans. “While I am retiring from full-time state service, I hope to contribute to the success of our great state in other roles in the future.”

Otter appointed Fransen, an attorney, DEQ director after previous Director Toni Hardesty left to become Idaho director of The Nature Conservancy. Fransen started with the state as a deputy attorney general in 1983. “Curt has been one of those directors whose skill and savvy help make everyone else’s job easier,” Otter said in a statement. “His professional demeanor and commitment to public service have been a comfort. During a time of growing federal mandates and as environmental issues are used for legal or political posturing rather than collaborative problem solving, Curt has been a stalwart and faithful executor of responsible public policy.”