Gov. Jay Nixon Appoints Ladue Resident to the Missouri Conservation Commission

On July 13, Gov. Jay Nixon appointed longtime outdoor enthusiast James T. Blair IV to the Missouri Conservation Commission.

Blair, grandson of former governor James T. Blair Jr., is a principal and member of the board of directors at Moneta Group LLC, one of the nation’s largest registered investment advisory firms.

Moreover, he has been involved with the Department of Conservation since he was a young boy.

His father, James T. Blair III, was a commissioner when young James was growing up, spending many a summer day alongside his dad on his hunting trips.

“I think I’ve got an appreciation for the legacy of the department, and that’s pretty unique,” he said. “I started knowing people working at the department when I was 6 or 7 years old and have, directly or indirectly, maintained relationships with people who served the department either as area wildlife managers, biologists, forestry experts, division chiefs, enforcement personnel. I’ve also known most of the directors and past commissioners.”

A past president of the Missouri Conservation Heritage Foundation that helps some of the department’s missions, Blair said he had been “encouraged by other former commissioners that I should pursue the opportunity or if it ever came my way, I should step up and take my turn. So, that’s what I did.”

His goal is to go in with an “open mind” to serve Nixon. The department has an independent source of funds supported by a sales tax.

“Every day, you’re on the job,” he said, “You should be cognizant of continuing to earn that source of revenue from the public and do the best for Missouri citizens.”

The department controls, manages, restores, conserves and regulates the bird, fish, game, forestry and all wildlife resources of the state, including hatcheries, sanctuaries, refuges, reservations and all other property owned, acquired or used for such purposes, as well as the acquisition and establishment of those properties.

“Missouri owns just under 800,000 acres of land that is managed by private landowners,” Blair said. “I think the department has been forward thinking in having a private land management division that’s designed to specifically work with private landowners to educate them and encourage them to maximize and manage the habitat on their private lands for the good of the state wildlife resource.”

He said that Missouri ranks fourth in the nation in hunter recruitment and is one of the few states in the country with an increase in hunting sales throughout the last two years.

“Most states are seeing a negative trend,” he said, “And it’s a testament to the forward-thinking approach of the department about hunter safety with its apprentice program.”

In this program, a person who is interested in hunting, but not sure whether it will be an activity to purse, can get an apprentice license and hunt with a registered hunter for two years, he said.

“It used to be that a person would have to invest two days in a hunter’s safety class,” he said. “This allows me or anyone, as a licensed hunter, to take this unlicensed hunter out for two years. After that, if they are still interested, they can go to hunter's safety class and get their own permit. This way, they get exposed to the sport and decide it they like it.”

Blair is a current board member for the Conservation Federation of Missouri and has served on local, state, and national committees for Ducks Unlimited.

His appointment is subject to confirmation by the Missouri Senate which could happen, he said, either when the Senate is called back in September, or in January 2012.