I am especially proud that Wildlife Mississippi conceptualized the Holt Collier and Theodore Roosevelt National Wildlife Refuges. I am grateful to the Mississippi delegation in Washington, specifically Senator Thad Cochran and Congressman Bennie Thompson, for without them, these refuges would have never happened.

As steps were being taken to honor Holt Collier and Theodore Roosevelt, a local Board of Supervisors in the Delta attempted to block the restoration of the Louisiana black bear. As long as it is within the law, property owners should have the say as to what they can do with their property.

This Board of Supervisors unanimously passed a resolution opposing the ongoing efforts to relocate the black bear into the region. Plans have not been made to place black bears within the county, only a protection and recovery effort of what is already in the area.

The supervisors felt that by introducing a species listed on the Endangered Species Act into the area, it would put additional restrictions on farmers and landowners in the area. The black bear has been in the area for many years and has not posed a problem to agricultural operations or forest management activities in the Delta with regard to the survival and recovery of the bear.

If we are to ever recover and de-list the black bear, we have to use best recovery techniques to increase population levels to the point that they can be removed from the list. Working with private property owners and enabling them to conserve habitat on their property is the kind of proactive strategy that can head off regulatory crises, while improving the environment and providing opportunities for economic development, which has always been the goal of Wildlife Mississippi.

I look forward to serving my tenure as President of this great organization.

William J. Van Devender
President