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CONSERVATION CORNER
(For the week of March 1, 2010)
Nation, Mississippi Loses a Champion in Hamilton
by James L. Cummins

Starkville native Sam D. Hamilton, 54, director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, died Saturday, February 20, 2010, in Keystone, Colorado.

On September 1, 2009, Hamilton was sworn-in as the 15th director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the nation's principal federal agency dedicated to the conservation of fish and wildlife and their habitats. Senator Thad Cochran introduced Sam at his Senate confirmation hearing. Hamilton brought to the position over 30 years of experience with the Service, beginning when he was 15 years old working as a Youth Conservation Corps member on the Noxubee National Wildlife Refuge in Mississippi. Prior to his appointment as director, he served as regional director of the agency's Southeast Region in Atlanta, Georgia.

Throughout his career, Hamilton exhibited outstanding leadership and fostered creative and innovative solutions to the challenges facing wildlife conservation. Hamilton was a true friend of the private forest landowner, and brought much needed common sense to an agency that often does not understand the world outside its own boundaries.

His colleague, Thomas Strickland, assistant secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks, praised Hamilton's more than 30 years of service to the agency. "Sam brought more than just a wealth of experience to the job, he brought courage and outstanding leadership," Strickland said. "The Department of the Interior will miss him greatly."

Besides Sam's family, our nation, especially Mississippi, suffered a great loss with his passing. Sam was a friend, a leader, a visionary and a passionate conservationist. His work left an immense mark on our great state and our nation. Sam was a huge friend to the National Wildlife Refuge System and the National Fish Hatchery System. He also understood the valuable role that private landowners can play in conservation.

Sam strongly believed no single entity, whether federal, state, or private, could ensure the sustainability of the nation's fish and wildlife resources working independently. He worked tirelessly toward building collaborative partnerships that allowed for the development of ideas and solutions greater than any one entity, working on its own, could accomplish.

Sam was a 1977 graduate of Mississippi State University. He will be truly missed and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will have a hard time replacing him.