Many of you are aware of the tremendous contributions to conservation made by former TN Wildlife Resources Agency Director Ed Carter. One of Ed’s significant accomplishments was his strong and unwavering support for the SECAS initiative. Ed was one of the initial champions in the Southeast for collaborative landscape-scale conservation, and provided compelling reasons and support for the creation of SECAS by the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (SEAFWA) in 2011. Ed continued his support and guidance for SECAS, including service on the SECAS Steering Committee, until his retirement last month.

Ed Carter’s recent retirement created a vacancy for a state fish and wildlife agency director on the SECAS Steering Committee. Last month, SEAFWA President Paul Johansen recommended the vacancy be filled by Chuck Sykes, Director of AL Wildlife & Freshwater Fisheries. Chuck recently stepped down as a two-term president of SEAFWA, and brings to the steering committee extensive conservation experience at statewide, regional, and national scales. We are pleased and grateful that Chuck has agreed to help advance the SECAS initiative through this committee participation.

The SECAS Steering Committee was established in 2019 to “provide oversight and strategic direction” to the partnership. The current makeup includes five state agency directors from SEAFWA and one federal agency representative from the Southeast Natural Resource Leaders’ Group.