News Release - 02/27/07

Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies' 2006 President Honored By Outdoor Life Magazine

Past president honored with prestigious Conservation Award, established in 1923

Washington, DC (February 28, 2007) - Outdoor Life magazine has awarded the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies' 2006 president, John Cooper, with its prestigious "Outdoor Life Conservation Award" for his dedication to wildlife conservation and as advocate for the outdoors.

"The Association is thrilled that John has been awarded the Outdoor Life Conservation Award," said Ed Parker, president of the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies and Bureau Chief for Natural Resources, Connecticut Dept of Environmental Protection. "He has dedicated his entire life to wildlife conservation and law enforcement, and spent years leading many of the Association's committees before serving as president last year."

John Cooper, who was the president of the Association between September 2005 and 2006, currently works for South Dakota Governor Mike Rounds as a Senior Policy Advisor on the Missouri River . He recently retired from his post as Secretary of the South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks, a position he held since 1995. Prior to being Department Secretary, Cooper served 22 years with the Law Enforcement Division of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. He was the Senior Resident Agent for North Dakota , South Dakota and Nebraska , supervising six Special Agents who enforced a variety of federal, state and tribal wildlife laws.

The Outdoor Life Conservation Award was established in 1923. Past winners have included Aldo Leopold, Jimmy Carter, John N. Cole, Congressman John Tanner and Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber. John Cooper was nominated for the award by the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership and Ducks Unlimited.

"I'm extremely honored to receive this award," said Cooper. "When the Editor's of Outdoor Life called me about the Award, I was pretty taken back, and frankly pretty humbled. Several of the major conservation organizations that I have worked with over the course of my career nominated me for this award and I certainly want to express my gratitude to them for all the work that they do to address the critical issues of natural resource conservation in our Country. I had the privilege to work with many outstanding non-government organizations over the years and it's their strong partnerships with federal agencies, state agencies and local conservation leaders that secure a place for wildlife. "

In addition to his professional career, John served as Field Editor for Dakota Outdoors magazine for 14 years where he wrote a monthly conservation/outdoors column. He has also had articles published in In-Fisherman , Western Outdoor News , and Bassmaster magazines.

During his career, John also served as vice-chairman for the North American Wetlands Conservation Council, chair of the National Fish Habitat Board, chairman of the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies Habitat Committee and chair of the Missouri River Association of States and Tribes. 

John is also a recipient of the 1992 South Dakota Wildlife Federation Conservationist of the Year Award; the 1982 and 2006 South Dakota Chapter of the Wildlife Society Wildlife Professional of the Year Award, the 1995 Guy Bradley Law Enforcement Professional Award, the 1998 U.S. Forest Service Chief's Award for Conservation Leadership and the 2006 Ducks Unlimited Wetland Conservation Achievement Award.  

He and his wife, Vera, have been married for 39 years and have two children, Leigh Ann and Leonard.  He enjoys fishing, camping, hunting waterfowl with his Black Lab, and taking his grandsons out on hikes. 

For more information about the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, visit www.fishwildlife.org .

Visit http://www.state.sd.us/gfp/ for more information about Game, Fish and Parks.

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The Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies -the organization that represents all of North America's fish and wildlife agencies-promotes sound management and conservation, and speaks with a unified voice on important fish and wildlife issues. Found on the web at www.fishwildlife.org .

us , Public Affairs
Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies
202/624-7890
rbrittin@fishwildilfe.org