Page 4 - 2019 MAY/JUNE Outdoor Oklahoma

Off the Beaten Path

Off the Beaten Path

NOT ES ON WILDLIFE • OU T DOOR TI PS • R EA DERS’ LET T ERS • EN V I RON MEN TA L NEWS
C OM PILED BY DON P. BROW N

DEPARTMENT DIRECTOR ELECTED CHAIRMAN

OF HUNTING, SHOOTING SPORTS COUNCIL

Director J.D. Strong just a few years ago,
of the Oklahoma and they continue to
Department of Wild- fuel our growth and
life Conservation was steadfast commit-
recently elected Chair- ment to ensuring a
man of the Board bright and prosper-
of Directors of The ous future for hunt-
Council to Advance ing and shooting sports in America.”
Hunting and the Strong is also active in a number of other national capacities,
Shooting Sports. including:
Established in • Executive Committee Member and Budget & Finance
2009, the Council Committee Chairman, Western Association of Fish &
was formed to ensure Wildlife Agencies (WAFWA).
support for and active
participation in hunt- • Lesser Prairie Chicken Initiative Council Chairman,
ing and the shooting WAFWA.
sports. In the past • Executive Committee Member, National Bobwhite Con-
decade, the Council J.D. Strong servation Initiative.
has evolved as a leader in a national movement to recruit, retain
and reactivate (R3) more hunters and target shooters. • Fisheries and Water Resources Policy Committee Chair-
Strong has served on the Council’s Board of Directors for man, Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (AFWA).
the past two years. Before elected Chairman, he was actively
engaged in the Executive Committee of the Board. • Member of President’s Task Force on Recruitment, Reten-
“What an honor to serve alongside this great group of board tion and Reactivation in Angling, AFWA.
members. I have long been impressed by this Council’s for- • Audit Committee Chairman, Southeastern Association of
ward-thinking initiatives to grow the community of hunters and Fish & Wildlife Agencies (SEAFWA).
shooting sports enthusiasts, and I am very excited about what
we can accomplish together in the coming years.” Strong has been the Wildlife Department Director since 2016.
John Frampton, CEO and President of the Council, said, “The He is an active sportsman and a fifth-generation Oklahoman
Council’s Board of Directors plays a key role in the Council’s suc- from Weatherford and earned a degree in wildlife ecology from
cess. It was their vision that helped to establish this organization Oklahoma State.

OKLAHOMA WILDLIFE FOUNDATION LAUNCHES WEBSITE

The Oklahoma Wildlife Conservation Foundation’s new web- financially contribute to the foundation is encouraged to
site was to be up and running by the time this magazine arrived visit the new website.
in mailboxes. To see the site, go to www.OKwildlifefoundation.org. Also, country music star Blake Shelton, a member of the
The charitable foundation was created last year to provide foundation’s Board of Directors, plans to perform benefit con-
additional support for the Oklahoma Department of Wild- certs in late May at his Ole Red restaurant and music venue in
life Conservation and its activities in managing the state’s Tishomingo. Shelton said he will donate proceeds from those
fish and wildlife resources and habitat. Anyone wishing to shows to the foundation.

2 Off the Beaten Path

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