Contact: Kent Keene, Assistant Manager, Lower Midwestern States and Agriculture Policy
Why It Matters: Elected officials who dedicate their political career to serving the sportsmen and women of their state deserve recognition. Senator Mark Allen fits this bill well, serving as both a Co-Chair of the Oklahoma Legislative Sportsmen’s Caucus and Member of the NASC Executive Council during his tenure in office. As Senator Allen reaches his term limit, the accolades he has recently received indicate that he will be missed.
After 12 years of authoring and voting on bills, Oklahoma State Senator Mark Allen recently found himself the subject of legislation, in the form of Oklahoma Senate Resolution 44. Introduced by Senate President Pro Tempore Greg Treat and co-authored by the entire Senate roster, SR 44 expresses the gratitude of the Oklahoma State Senate to Senator Allen for his service as the State Senator for District 4. Senator Allen, who will reach his term limit in 2022, has served as the Senator for District 4 since 2010.
In addition to his service to the citizens of District 4, Senator Allen also dedicated much of his political career to the service of Oklahoma’s sportsmen and women. In 2016, Senator Allen was appointed to be a Co-Chair of the Oklahoma Legislative Sportsmen’s Caucus, a position that he still holds today. Still, he further sought opportunities to advocate on behalf of sportsmen and women and, in 2019, became a member of the National Assembly of Sportsmen’s Caucuses (NASC) Executive Council.
Throughout the years, Senator Allen has been a stalwart of the sportsmen’s community with several recent victories, including, along with his fellow Sportsmen’s Caucus Co-Chairs, the unanimous adoption of Senate Concurrent Resolution 5, which encouraged all public school districts to incorporate that hunter education curriculum, in 2021 and the passage of Senate Bill 1571, which legalizes the use of airbows during rifle deer seasons, earlier this year.
In addition to SR 44, Senator Allen was recently honored by the Oklahoma Legislative Sportsmen’s Caucus with their own citation expressing gratitude for his service as a leader of the Sportsmen’s Caucus. A continuous presence at the annual NASC Sportsman-Legislator Summit, a champion for sportsmen and women, and a force to be reckoned with on the sporting clays range, Senator Allen is leaving large shoes to be filled.
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?
