Wildlife Protection

Senior Counsel

Jeff serves as Senior Counsel to PEER, where he specializes in civil service, scientific integrity, and whistleblower protection issues. Jeff was PEER’s Executive Director from 1997 to 2019 and its Pacific Director from 2019 to 2025. Previously, he was the Policy Director and a staff attorney at the Government Accountability Project, representing whistleblowers from both the public and private sectors. Before coming to DC, Jeff worked in California state government for 17 years, mostly in the State Legislature as counsel to various committees where he drafted hundreds of laws on topics ranging from energy conservation to the rights of employed inventors. Jeff served stints as a deputy district attorney and an appellate court clerk. He is a graduate of the California Correctional Officers Academy.

National Parks or Jurassic Parks? Conservation Trump Style

by Jeff Ruch | April 22, 2025
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum suggests that technology can replace the role of habitat and intact ecosystems in the survival of wildlife ...

Overlooking the Obvious: Red King Crab Collapse Due to Overfishing

NOAA claimed that the primary cause of the Bering Sea red king crab's collapse was warming seas caused by climate change rather than overfishing. A new NOAA study puts the lie to that alibi ...

Comment – EPA petition seeking rulemaking to modify labeling requirements for pesticides and devices

by PEER | March 24, 2025
Comments on the Environmental Protection Agency petition seeking rulemaking to modify labeling requirements for pesticides and devices ...

Three Things You May Have Missed About Project 2025

by Tim Whitehouse | January 22, 2025
With the election behind him, Trump is now embracing the people and ideas behind Project 2025, a conservative plan to radically remake the federal government ...

Alaska Aerial Gunning Bears Yields No Clear Benefits

by PEER | January 7, 2025
State Has No Evidence Strafing Brown Bears Increases Caribou Calf Survival ...