The Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF) has announced the addition of John Culclasure as CSF’s Central Appalachian Coordinator. As the newest member of CSF’s States Program Team, John will work on state hunting and fishing-related policies in Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio, Virginia, and West Virginia.
Prior to joining CSF, John served as the Land Protection Manager for the Land Trust for Little Tennessee, Inc. in North Carolina. In this capacity, he worked in coordination with private land owners to conserve working forests and partnered with state agencies to improve access to public lands for the state’s sportsmen and women. In addition to working for the land trust, John was engaged in national forest planning collaborative efforts and served on the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Council, where he worked with local hunters to support active forest management on public lands in western North Carolina.
During his first week at CSF, John joined CSF’s Northeastern States Director Brent Miller and Mid-Atlantic States Coordinator Alana Barricks in attending a Virginia Legislative Sportsmen’s Caucus meeting in Richmond. Miller gave a presentation on the structure of the National Assembly of Sportsmen’s Caucuses (NASC) and introduced Culclasure as CSF’s new contact for the Caucus. Formerly part of NASC’s Northeastern States Region, Virginia moved to the Southeastern States Region this year. The meeting was well attended and topics discussed included, among others, National Hunting and Fishing Day and federal public lands management.
Originally from Hendersonville, North Carolina, John graduated from Cumberland School of Law at Samford University. He also holds a Bachelor of Science in forestry from The University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee.
Studies conducted at both the state and federal level have found that the number of hunters and trappers have been on a generally declining trend over the past several decades. To increase recruitment, retention, and reactivation (R3) of hunters and trappers, which initiative do you think would have the greatest impact?
