Millner Reappointed to Wildlife and Heritage Conservation Council

SIDNEY, NE - Cabela's Chief Executive Officer Tommy Millner has been reappointed to the Wildlife and Hunting Heritage Conservation Council, an official advisory group established in 2010 by U.S. Secretary of Interior Ken Salazar and U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack to provide input on wildlife and habitat conservation and hunting endeavors.

Millner was appointed in 2010 to the council's inaugural term. The reappointment is for a three-year term.

Salazar and Vilsack announced the appointments Friday.

"During its inaugural term, members of the Council provided important recommendations on conserving wildlife habitat and water resources that are so important to America's hunting and angling heritage, as well as enhancing access to the great outdoors," Salazar reported in a press release announcing the appointments. "I am confident that today's appointments will provide a strong voice to the nation's conservation and sportsmen communities and ensure that the next generation enjoys a thriving wildlife heritage."

The 18-member council includes representatives of national organizations, resource management agencies, outreach groups, tourism industries, tribal commissions and the community at large - all with strong ties to hunting, wildlife and shooting sports.

Millner, the only appointee representing a retail corporation, and other council members are also charged with preserving America's hunting heritage for future generations through the development of policies and programs aimed at conserving wildlife populations and their habitat.

"I'm honored to be included in such a coordinated effort to keep our country's outdoor traditions strong," Millner said. "It is heartening that secretaries Salazar and Vilsack value our nation's legacy of wildlife and habitat conservation and the heritage of hunting and outdoor sports, the same traditions Cabela's has celebrated and supported for half a century."
"America's rural communities and rural economies depend on healthy soil, water and air; and America's hunters and anglers - our nation's first conservationists - have long fought to conserve those precious resources," Vilsack reported in the release. "These appointees are uniquely qualified to advise us on the full range of issues addressed by the Council while reflecting the true conservation spirit of our nation's outdoor traditions."
Millner's fellow appointees on the Council are:
David Allen (Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation)
Jeffrey Crane (Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation)
Robert Fithian (Alaska Professional Hunters Association, Inc.)
Jonathan Gassett (Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources)
Thomas Franklin (Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership)
Winifred Kessler (The Wildlife Society)
Robert Manes (The Nature Conservancy)
Frederick Maulson (Great Lakes Indian Fish & Wildlife Commission)
Robert Model (Boone and Crockett Club)
Joanna Prukop (former New Mexico Secretary of Energy, Minerals & Natural Resources)
Stephen Sanetti (National Shooting Sports Foundation)
Larry Schweiger (National Wildlife Federation)
Christine Thomas (College of Natural Resources, University of Wisconsin)
George Thornton (National Wild Turkey Federation)
John Tomke (Ducks Unlimited)
Howard Vincent (Pheasants Forever)
Steve Williams (Wildlife Management Institute)

Contact:
Joe Arterburn (308) 255-1204