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2013 Memorials In Memory of Mr. Douglas Wayne Sims Mr. & Mrs. Bettie & Gene Gustafson, Millington, Tenn.
J. Clark Akers honored Federation staff, friends, and family honored longtime TWF supporter and lifelong conservationist J. Clark Akers on Friday, May 23, with the presentation of a resolution establishing a Conservation Achievement Award in his honor — the J. Clark Akers III Champion of Conservation Award. Pictured are, from left, TWF CEO Mike Butler, Akers, TWF Governmental Affairs Committee Chair Monty Halcomb, and TWF Chief Development Officer Kendall McCarter.
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the House floor after winning passage in the Judiciary Committee, where the bill passed also by a voice vote and was reported with no dissenting views. The bill is co-sponsored by six additional members of Congress, evenly bipartisan: Reps. Joe Garcia (D-FL), Doug Collins (R-GA), Steve Daines (R-MT), Kurt Schrader (D-OR), Collin Peterson (D-MN), and Rob Bishop (R-UT). We applaud the House’s passage and are promoting Senate passage. Our goal is to better understand why environmental litigation is so common, the grounds on which the government loses, and the reasons for using public funds to pay private legal fees. “Many people have opinions on environmental litigation,” said Baier, “but there must be data on what is actually happening before anyone’s opinion can help with this issue.” Many sporting conservation groups also support H.R. 2919 because they work closely with the federal agencies that manage wildlife habitat on public lands, where many management projects stall in the courts, taking time and money away from on-the-ground conservation work.
In Memory of Mr. Ray Eugene Quinn Russ, Marion, Jennifer, & Kate Farrar, Brentwood, Tenn. Interstate Mechanical Contractors, Inc., Knoxville, Tenn.
TWF adds program intern TWF is proud to announce the addition of program intern Michael Folk, a Memphis native and 2013 graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Michael is an outdoor enthusiast who hopes to make a career in the field of wildlife and habitat conservation. A joint letter from sportsmen’s groups last fall to lawmakers in Washington D.C. urged support and co-sponsorship for the Open Book on Equal Access to Justice Act. Baier said, “Sportsmen, particularly the founders of the Boone and Crockett Club, led the creation of federal conservation agencies. Naturally we are intent on their success today. These agencies must be accountable to the public, but in a case of differing opinions, which is what many of these lawsuits are, the government should not subsidize the controversy. To get the balance right, we need common data to enable us to sort case details and adjust policies accordingly.” Suing the government has become common enough to raise questions about whether agencies are properly carrying out the law, whether lawsuits are too easy to file and win, and whether all lawsuits should be supported with public dollars, says Baier, and H.R. 2919 would help answer these questions. The Federation will continue to monitor the progress of this legislation and the position of our U.S. senators as it makes its way through that chamber. For more information, go to www.tnwf.org. The Boone and Crockett Club and Watershed Results contributed significantly to this update.
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