Pheasants Forever CEO Howard Vincent was among 18 people named Friday by secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to the Wildlife and Hunting Heritage Conservation Council, a group created earlier this year to advise the two departments about recreational hunting and shooting sports activities and associated wildlife and habitat conservation.
Pheasants Forever is headquartered in suburban St. Paul.
"Inspired by the legacy of President Theodore Roosevelt, hunters long have taken the lead in the conservation of our nation's wildlife and its habitat, and I am pleased so many of the leaders in our nation's hunting and conservation community have accepted an invitation to serve on the Wildlife and Hunting Heritage Conservation Council," said Salazar in making the announcement. "At the recent America's Great Outdoors conference, President Obama said that few pursuits are more satisfying to the spirit than discovering the greatness of America's outdoors. I look forward to working with the council to help fulfill my generation's obligation to ensure that the next generation enjoys a thriving wildlife heritage."
"Maintaining and conserving wildlife habitat and water resources that are so important to America's hunting and angling heritage in the face of today's conservation challenges requires a coordinated effort between federal, state, and local officials and partners in the private sector," Vilsack said in a press release announcing the appointments. "The members of Wildlife and Hunting Heritage Conservation Council will play a crucial role in our ongoing efforts to improve the health and management of America's public and private lands."
In addition to Vincent, the secretaries named the following individuals – whose terms begin immediately – to serve on the council for two years:
M. David Allen (Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation)
Jeffrey S. Crane (Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation)
Robert R. Fithian (Alaska Professional Hunters Association, Inc.)
John E. Frampton (SC Department of Natural Resources)
Thomas Franklin (Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership)
Ron Heward (rancher, Bates Hole/Shirley Basin Sage Grouse Working Group)
Robert Manes (The Nature Conservancy)
Frederick D. Maulson (Great Lakes Indian Fish & Wildlife Commission)
Tommy Millner (Cabela's)
Robert Model (Boone and Crockett Club)
Joanna Prukop (Freedom to Roam)
Stephen L. Sanetti (National Shooting Sports Foundation)
Larry Schweiger (National Wildlife Federation)
Christine L. Thomas (College of Natural Resources, University of Wisconsin)
George C. Thornton (National Wild Turkey Federation)
John Tomke (Ducks Unlimited)
Steve Williams (Wildlife Management Institute)
The council is intended to provide a forum for sportsmen and women to advise the federal government on policies related to wildlife and habitat conservation endeavors that (a) benefit recreational hunting; (b) benefit wildlife resources; and (c) encourage partnership among the public, the sporting conservation community, the shooting and hunting sports industry, wildlife conservation organizations, the states, Native American tribes, and the federal government, according to the press release accompanying Friday's announcement.
