STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Mississippi State University Extension Service Director Gary Jackson recently was selected to be a professional member of North America’s first conservation organization.

Founded by Theodore Roosevelt and George Bird Grinnell in 1887, the Boone and Crockett Club promotes wildlife conservation and management, including sportsmanship, habitat conservation and the ethical standards of fair chase hunting.

Gary Jackson

“It’s an honor to be accepted as a professional member of such a highly respected wildlife conservation organization,” Jackson said. “My nomination and selection reflects Extension’s long-standing commitment to natural resources conservation, education and the advancement of science-based practices.”

Jackson was proposed as a professional member by club members James Cummins, executive director of Wildlife Mississippi, and Bruce Leopold, retired MSU Sharp Distinguished Professor of Wildlife Ecology and former executive director of the Center for Resolving Human-Wildlife Conflicts. Jackson joins 127 other professional members who serve this organization, which is largely responsible for helping develop wildlife management practices, create national parks, and conduct other research, education and policy programs.

“Gary Jackson is a lifelong conservationist,” Cummins said. “As director of Extension, he is a professional educator and provides supervision and funding support for conservation. He promotes the values and ideals of the Boone and Crockett Club, and he is a major advocate of public and private landowner conservation.”