New Nimrod Education Center highlights the crucial link between hunting, fishing, and conservation.
Photo above: Al Stewart, longtime Upland Bird Specialist for Michigan DNR, is the director of the new Nimrod Education Center at Hillsdale College.
The important work of helping non-hunters understand the importance of sportsmen-funded wildlife management just got a big boost. A groundbreaking new center dedicated to educating the public on the values of recreational hunting and fishing has been established through an endowment from Alan N. Taylor, founder and president of the Nimrod Society, to Hillsdale College in Hillsdale, Michigan.
The Nimrod Society is an organization dedicated to informing the non-hunting and non-fishing public about the economic, social, and wildlife management benefits of hunting and fishing. Taylor’s perpetual endowment creates the Nimrod Center for Education in the Areas of Consumptive Sport and Recreational Hunting and Fishing, known simply as the Nimrod Education Center. Combined with the resources of the highly respected Hillsdale College, the center provides a dynamic new venue to promote the benefits of hunting and fishing.
The Nimrod Education Center is led by Nimrod Education Center Director Al Stewart. Stewart recently retired from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) after fifty years with the agency. At the DNR, he served as Upland Game Bird Specialist and Program Leader, responsible for statewide management programs for ruffed grouse, woodcock, sharp-tailed grouse, quail, pheasants, and wild turkeys.
Additional wildlife and fisheries faculty educators and staff who are avid hunters and anglers will be employed by the Center. Educational outreach activities will include courses in wildlife and fisheries management that emphasize the sportsman’s role, continuing education programs, seminars, and conferences. Scholarships will be available to students who demonstrate an interest in the subject matter.
As part of its mission, the Nimrod Education Center will help to develop and implement mass-media communication programs to inform the public about the benefits of hunting and fishing. Developing partnerships to establish Wildlife Councils in all states is an important goal of the Center. Students, faculty, and staff will work to spearhead public education programs and foster communication among sportsmen, conservation groups, and wildlife agencies.
The center is authorized to provide grants to other educational institutions and to sportsmen-focused conservation organizations to develop curricula and programs that support its goals.
“Many people are misled about the vital role that hunters and anglers play in wildlife conservation and management,” said Taylor. “Hunting and fishing license fees, along with federal excise taxes on sporting equipment, make up the principal funding for all wildlife management and protection. The mission of the Nimrod Education Center is to show the true relationship between sportsmen and conservation.”
The center will operate from Hillsdale College’s main campus and satellite campuses, and will use the College’s existing facilities to conduct its activities, including the G.H. Gordon Biological Station and the John Anthony Halter Shooting Sports Education Center. To learn more, visit Hillsdale.edu/educational-outreach/nimrod-education-center.
