wildlife

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.

COMMENTARY | Park Service’s Inhumane Inertia

by Jeff Ruch | December 9, 2022
The Biden administration has left several disastrous Trump policies in place - from allowing inhumane hunting practices to not taking action on park crowding ...

PEERMail | Banning Lead Ammunition in National Parks

by PEER | November 29, 2022
One of the great tragedies of lead ammunition is the widespread poisoning it causes to wildlife ...

COMMENTARY | Countering the Western War on Wolves

by Jeff Ruch | November 2, 2022
A science-based approach to wolf and predator management is the key to restoring ecological balance in America’s Western lands ...

USGS Inches Toward Accreditation of Wildlife Disease Lab

by PEER | September 14, 2022
Independent Review to Prevent Biosafety and Animal Welfare Breakdowns ...

COMMENTARY | Preventing Future Zoonotic Pandemics

by Peter Jenkins | May 18, 2022
Four policy steps to reduce zoonotic disease risks and prevent future pandemics that stem from human interaction with wildlife ...