Game and Parks Insider-Update

The Nebraska Wildlife Federation tapped Nebraska Game and Parks Commission Director Rex Amack as its Lifetime Achievement Award recipient at the organization’s annual 2010 Wildlife Conservation Awards Dinner and Auction on Oct.14 at Eugene T. Mahoney State Park.

Each year, the Federation honors Nebraska individuals and organizations that have made a significant contribution to fish and wildlife conservation in Nebraska with recognition for their efforts at the banquet and traditional wildlife feed.   Lauded for his 44 years of service at the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, Amack has relentlessly promoted outdoor recreation and natural resource education during his career at NGPC.  For nearly 24 years Amack has served as director of NGPC.  During that time he worked to raise private funds that paid the bulk of the $30 million needed to create Mahoney SP near Ashland, a crown jewel in the Nebraska state park system. He has provided national leadership, serving as president of the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies and helping to organize the White House Conference on North American Wildlife Policy.

Among the other award winners was former NGPC fisheries biologist Larry Hutchinson who earned the Conservation Professional Award.  Hutchinson recently retired after a 40-year career with the agency. He was the water resources program manager, and he represented Nebraska on the Instream Flow Council, a national organization that works to improve the effectiveness of state and provincial instream flow programs in protecting aquatic ecosystems. Hutchinson, is a consummate professional, a model of dedication and commitment to Nebraska’s rivers and other natural resources. ( post by Pat Engelhard – Nebraska Game and Parks Web Content Producer pat.engelhard@nebraska.gov)