Council will advise federal agencies regarding conservation and shooting sports initiatives
WASHINGTON, DC — Last January, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack created the Wildlife and Hunting Heritage Conservation Council (WHHCC), which will advise their respective agencies regarding management activities that benefit recreational hunting and wildlife resources. In addition, the council will provide input on activities that encourage partnerships among the public, the sporting conservation community, the shooting and hunting sports industry, wildlife conservation organizations, and federal and state governments.

Membership was announced in July, with two appointments having Kansas connections. Rob Manes, Ellsworth, is director of conservation programs for the Kansas Chapter of The Nature Conservancy and former assistant secretary of the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks (KDWP). Steve Williams, currently president of the Wildlife Management Institute, is a former KDWP secretary.

Fifty-seven nominations for membership to the WHHCC were received, but the WHHCC charter limits membership to 18. The Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture appoint members for two-year terms.

The council is an official advisory group under the Federal Advisory Committee Act that will help to promote and preserve America’s hunting heritage for future generations. It will also provide a forum for sportsmen and women to advise the federal government on policies related to wildlife and habitat conservation endeavors that benefit recreational hunting; benefit wildlife resources; and encourage partnerships 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.

Other groups represented on the committee include the following: South Carolina Department of Natural Resources; Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership; Freedom to Roam’s Business for Wildlife Initiative; National Wild Turkey Federation; Pheasants Forever; Ducks Unlimited; Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation; Boone and Crockett Club; Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation; Medicine Bow Conservation District (WY); Bates Hole/Shirley Basin Sage Grouse Working Group; Cabela’s; National Shooting Sports Foundation; College of Natural Resources, University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point; Alaska Professional Hunter’s Association, Inc.; and Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission.
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