James L. Cummins

At A Glance:

* Received his Master of Science degree in Fisheries Science from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and his Bachelor of Science degree in Fisheries management from Mississippi State University. He is a graduate of Greenville (Mississippi) High School.

* Professional interests include developing and maintaining private, voluntary, incentive, tax and market-based solutions to environmental problems.

* Personal interests include spending time with his wife, big game hunting, fly fishing, wildlife photography, riding horses and working on their family’s farms.

* Formerly served as a Legislative Fellow in the Office of Senator Thad Cochran in the United States Senate in Washington, D.C.

Up Close:

“A lot of environmental groups want to do good things for fish and wildlife. We want to do good conservation that works,” says Wildlife Mississippi’s Executive Director James L. Cummins. James got his start in conservation as a teenager working with the Mississippi Department of Wildlife Conservation and working on his grandfathers' cattle, chicken and row crop farms near Kilmichael, Mississippi. “I considered going into chemical engineering, but thought fish and wildlife would be more rewarding,” jokes James.

That was in the early eighties. Today, with a small, efficient staff of 11 employees, we continue to build a strong Foundation built on solid principles. “We wanted a set of principles that define how to do the business of conservation, as well as create a great work environment.”

His ability to convey the importance of good conservation to the small farmer who farms 40 acres to the large landowners is obvious. “On the very first time I met my mentor and our Chairman, Clarke Reed, he told me, ‘Enlightened self-interest is the greatest of all human motivations.’ I try, every day, to live by that principle and whether we are trying to show a small farmer how to develop a gravel spawning bed for bluegill in a farm pond for his grandkids to fish in or explain to the White House the importance of the Wetlands Reserve Program. If you know what motivates people, the rest is just a few technical details.”

"In the end, it boils down to improving the quality of life in Mississippi."

As the chief executive officer of Wildlife Mississippi, duties include: overseeing all activities of all employees; developing Wildlife Mississippi's goals, objectives, and programs in conjunction with the Board of Trustees; developing standard operating procedures; coordinating federal and state legislative programs; preparing an annual budget in conjunction with Wildlife Mississippi's chairman, president, treasurer and bookkeeper; directing membership programs; editing all publications, including the magazine; coordinating activities of all committees; evaluating the performance of each employee; directing communications programs; soliciting foundation, corporate, private and government donations/contracts/grants; making presentations to children's groups, civic clubs and hunting, fishing, and wildlife viewing clubs; directing field operations and technical and financial assistance programs, and other duties as assigned by the chairman, president and/or Board of Trustees.

He has published over 60 articles and submits a weekly conservation article to over 80 newspapers throughout Mississippi. He has been published in such magazines as Wildlife Mississippi, Delta Wildlife, Mid-South Farmer, Mississippi Outdoors, Future Earth, California Waterfowl, Mississippi Game and Fish Magazine and the Proceedings of the Annual Conference of the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies
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He is involved in a wide array of organizations. He is a Member of the American Fisheries Society, Board Member of the Binational Softwood Lumber Council, Regular Member of the Boone and Crockett Club, Board Member for the Center for Conservation Incentives, Member of the Governor’s Commission on Recovery, Rebuilding and Renewal, Board Member of Gulf Coast Energy, Sponsor Member of the Land Trust Alliance, Founder of the League of Sportsmen Voters, Commissioner of Mississippi Forestry Commission, Chairman of the Board of the Mississippi Institute for Forest Inventory, Vice President of the Mississippi Legislative Sportsman’s Foundation, Founder of the Mississippi River Trust, Board Member of Momentum Mississippi, Member of the Native American Fish and Wildlife Society, Member of the Outdoor Writers Association of American, Member of Quail Unlimited, Member of Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Member of the Society of American Foresters, Member of the Southeastern Outdoor Press Association, Founder of The Carbon Fund, Founder of the Theodore Roosevelt Society, Member of Trout Unlimited, Member of The Wildlife Society and Co-chairman of the Working Wetlands Conservation Initiative.

These accomplishments reflect James’ devotion to building a results-oriented organization whose single goal is to “improve the quality of life in Mississippi.” It is a simple goal but one that takes leadership and involvement in all stages of the organization.

“What separates a great conservation organization from a mediocre one is a combination of a good mission, a supportive Board of Trustees, superb people to work with and a great staff. We are very fortunate to have all of those.”

E-mail: jcummins@wildlifemiss.org

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