“I wanted someone with a chamber-of-commerce mentality,” Walker said.

A longtime critic of the agency she will now oversee, Stepp served on a legislative committee that toured the state seeking comment and criticism about the DNR. And in a post on a conservative blog last year, Stepp said the people who work at the DNR tend to be “anti-development, anti-transportation, and pro-garter snakes, karner blue butterflies, etc.” In the same post, she called agency employees “unelected bureaucrats” who tend to “come up with some pretty outrageous stuff that those of us in the real world have to contend with.”

Stepp, who will be paid $125,000, said Thursday that her past criticisms of the DNR should not affect morale at the agency.

“I think it is going to be helpful,” Stepp said. “Everybody who works in any big agency or business knows there can be improvements.”

Stepp called her first meeting with DNR employees Thursday morning “incredibly warm and welcoming.” She said she emphasized that she will have a relaxed management style. She said she will work to streamline environmental permitting and encourage a focus on customer service.