Columnist Paula DelGiudice: Wildlife group has made big strides

Paula DelGiudice

Wednesday, April 4, 2001 | 10:27 a.m.

Paula DelGiudice's outdoors notebook appears Wednesday. Reach her at desertdenizens@aol.com.

The annual meeting of the National Wildlife Federation is this week in Washington, D.C. I have had the opportunity to serve as chair of the board of directors for the past two years. It may have been the fastest two years of my life. The first time I ran for the board was the last time that Lute Olson's Arizona Wildcats won the NCAA basketball championship. I remember it well because our annual meeting in that year (1997) was held in Tucson.

Then in 1999 in Houston, I was elected chair.

There have been wonderful memories. I mean, how many people get a chance to throw out the first pitch at a major league baseball game? Then there was the trip to Africa -- a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

It's not just about the great things that have happened to me during the past two years, but about the great things that are happening in conservation. There have been many successes for the National Wildlife Federation and while I can't take credit for many of them, having a small part to play makes me feel wonderful.

NWF has initiated many efforts to move its staff and resources to its regions, knowing that building a big national office in the D.C. metropolitan area wouldn't be as effective in helping citizens fight their battles to protect wildlife and wild places as having them nearby. Therefore a major part of our organizational time has been spent deploying those resources.

The opening of our office in San Diego will benefit individuals and our state affiliate in Nevada, the Nevada Wildlife Federation. The staff will be engaged in helping the Nevada Wildlife Federation meet its organizational interests in conservation and education. Already, the staff has been participating in the meetings of the Lower Colorado River Multi-Species Habitat Conservation Plan working group.

We've had some real conservation victories, too.

Congress in its last session approved major funding for Everglades restoration -- an issue that has been a major part of our work in the Southeast and our Florida office. There was a partial success in achieving funding for conservation needs in the last session also. Not only did we come away with funding for conservation, but with a general awareness and support among the public and congressional leaders that a stable source of funding for conservation was absolutely essential.

My term will end on Friday. It's not everyone who is able to have his or her dreams come true in such a wonderful way. Having the opportunity to serve as chair of an organization that works so hard and achieves so much has been the realization of many dreams for me.