Oklahoma Congressman Recognized for Conservation Efforts
We love to hear stories of representatives and individuals being recognized for their efforts to support, protect or promote conservation. What makes these stories even more sweet are when we have a direct connection to the individuals being recognized. Oklahoma’s 4th district congressman Tom Cole was recognized on April 25th at At the tenth annual Capital Conservation Awards Dinner put on by the Teddy Roosevelt Conservation Partnership. Congressman Cole received the 2018 James D. Range Conservation Award. This award is presented to one Democrat and one Republican each year and is named for TRCP’s co-founder, a true conservation visionary.
From the TRCP blog page:
“At the tenth annual Capital Conservation Awards Dinner tonight, the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership celebrated three honorees from Capitol Hill and the private sector for their leadership on fish and wildlife habitat conservation: Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Congressman Tom Cole (R-Okla.), and Bruce Culpepper, U.S. country chair and president of Shell Oil Company.
“Congressman Cole was recognized for serving as an outspoken champion of bipartisan budget agreements and a vocal opponent of the brinksmanship that can lead to controversial riders and insufficient conservation funding. “Cole has been a voice of reason on the appropriations subcommittee overseeing Department of Interior spending, and he has co-sponsored legislation to permanently reauthorize the Land and Water Conservation Fund, secure alternative revenue sources for state-led wildlife conservation efforts, and modernize the Pittman-Robertson Act, which provides for federal funding for habitat restoration efforts through excise taxes on firearms, ammunition, and hunting gear.”1
We would like to express our gratitude to Congressman Cole for standing up and protecting our Oklahoma hunting heritage in DC. Without men and women like Congressman Cole, it’s hard to imagine the state hunting, fishing and wildlife conservation in Oklahoma would be in. We also want to say thank you to the TRCP for recognizing those who fight for conservation every year.
1.) Brady, Kristyn. “TRCP Celebrates Three Champions of Habitat Conservation and Funding Solutions.” Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, 25 Apr. 18AD, Kristyn Brady.