First National Conservation Pro Staff Announced

   01.16.13

First National Conservation Pro Staff Announced

Hunters and anglers from across the country will advocate for the Mississippi River Delta

The Vanishing Paradise coalition is taking a huge step forward by announcing the makeup of its 30-member volunteer promotional staff.

Land Tawney, who manages Vanishing Paradise on behalf of the National Wildlife Federation, says the group of volunteer leaders will be a vital part of the coalition’s efforts to educate hunters and anglers about the importance of the disappearing Mississippi River Delta.

“Almost every outdoors business in America has its own pro staff,” Tawney said. “But this is the first time a conservation group has used this same idea to create a team of advocates for hunting and fishing habitat. Our pro staff members are going to be on the ground, on the airways and on the Internet fighting for the delta.”

The wetlands of the Mississippi River Delta are eroding into the Gulf of Mexico at an average rate of a football field every hour. Vanishing Paradise is a coalition led by the National Wildlife Federation, Ducks Unlimited, and the Louisiana Wildlife Federation that aims to restore the Mississippi River Delta by strategically reintroducing water and sediment from the Mississippi River into the rapidly-eroding wetlands.

These coastal wetlands provide habitat for as much as 70% of the waterfowl in the Mississippi and Central Flyways and are important for both inshore and deepwater saltwater fish. The Mississippi River Delta is also a nationally recognized bass fishery.

The members of Vanishing Paradise’s new pro staff are:

Burton Angelle, Louisiana Howard Malpass, Louisiana
Colin Anthony, Missouri Luke McNally, Washington
Curtis Arnold, Texas Mike McNett, Illinois
Chad Bell, Louisiana Wade Middleton, Texas
Karen Brigman, Nevada Matthew Miller, Wisconsin
Joey Buttram, Indiana Robert Montgomery, Missouri
Joule Charney, California Philip Nelson, Florida
Kyle Doherty, Missouri John Pollmann, South Dakota
Charles Faircloth, Alabama Taylor Schaltenbrand, Illinois
Mike Frenette, Louisiana Sonny Schindler, Mississippi
Jeff Giffin, Missouri Paul Strnad, Wisconsin
Joseph Gignac, Arkansas Sean Turner, Louisiana
Joseph Hoffmann, Minnesota Kirby Verret, Louisiana
Michael Kaufmann, Illinois Travis Weige, Texas
Joel Lucks, New York Garrett Wishon, North Carolina

To find out more about Vanishing Paradise, please visit our website, find us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter.

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The Mississippi River Delta supports some of the best hunting and fishing anywhere in the world. But since levees were built in the early 1930s, the Mississippi River Delta has lost an area of coastal wetlands, forests and barrier islands almost as large as Delaware. Vanishing Paradise works with over five hundred businesses and organizations to restore Louisiana’s waterfowl and fishing habitat by reconnecting the Mississippi River with its wetlands.

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