News and Information
Susan works to keep the National Wildlife Refuge System and National Park Service under the professional wildlife and land management care of trained government professionals selected through the Civil Service Commission.  She believes that no local, regional or private government or organization should manage these national wildlife treasures.  If you agree with Susan that the National Wildlife Refuge System and the National Park System should remain under the control of qualified government professionals, please call or e-mail your comments to your local U.S. senators and congressmen .  Check out the Federal Register at http://www.peer.org/refuge/Fed_Register_Bison_Range.pdf that lists all national refuges and national parks slated for turnover negotiations.  Keep up the pressure by submitting your comments TODAY. 
   
Susan is also active in the preservation of Initiative 143, which was passed by Montana voters in November 2000.  This initiative eliminates canned shooting of captive deer and elk behind high fences on cervid game farms in Montana.  The only CWD found in Montana was found on game farms and since the passage of I-143 no wild deer or elk have been infected.  A federal judge in Montana upheld I-143 in April 2003 that stated I-143 did not "take" anything from game farmers.  This is the 14th court decision that favors I-143.  E-mail Susan if you want to see a copy of the court ruling at bluemountain@montana.com. Call her at 406-251-5116.

 

  
Since 2002, Susan and a group of sportsmen in Colorado worked to pass stiff regulations that restrict the activities of cervid game farms in that state.  The regulations were passed by the Colorado Agriculture Commission and the Colorado Wildlife Commission and need to be enforced by the Colorado Brand Board.  We're working on that aspect of the issue and continue to encourage the Colorado Brand Board to enforce regulations the impact the health of wild deer and elk, wildlife that generates billions of dollars of revenue for the Colorado economy during hunting seasons.  Everyone reading this should call the Colorado Division of Wildlife and the Colorado Dept. of Agriculture thanking them for passing such regulations and urge them to ENFORCE the regulations. Work is also being done to support ongoing research related to CWD cures and causes of its spread.  Call or write the Governor of Colorado urging strong enforcement of all regulations on game farm operations, especially those related to deer and elk.

In the spirit of Theodore Roosevelt, the wildlife and its habitat cannot speak, so we must and we will.

 

  

JACK RENEAU WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT SCHOLARSHIP

 

  
A wildlife management scholarship, "Jack Reneau Wildlife Management Scholarship," was established in 2003 at Colorado State University (CSU) to award $1,000 each year to one deserving wildlife biology upper classman or graduate student at CSU.  The recipient needs to maintain a 3.5 grade point average or better, major in wildlife biology or management, and love to hunt big-game.  They also need to complete a scholarship application and write a short essay.  Applicants must be big-game hunters.  E-mail Susan at bluemountain@montana.com or call CSU's Wildlife Management Department.

The 2008 recipient for the Jack Reneau Wildlife Management Scholarship is Fruita, Colorado native Eric Creeden who will graduate from CSU with a double degree in Natural Resources Management and Wildlife Biology in December 2008.  During his college career, Eric has worked on a carnivore monitoring project in the Sierra Nevada Mountains focused on fishers and martens, completed surveys for the northern goshawk in Steamboat Springs, and worked for the Colorado Division of Wildlife on the eastern plains of Colorado. He also has done research on flammulated owls, boreal toads, and three-toed woodpeckers.  His goal is to go to graduate school and work for the Colorado Division of Wildlife.  His twin brother will also graduate from CSU and plans to attend medical school.

Taylor Elm was the 2007 recipient.  The 2006 recipient was Zach Sanders of Gainesville, Texas.  Prior to his enrollment at CSU, Zach served in the U.S. Marine Corps as a sergeant and was a member of one of the first units to enter Baghdad, Iraq at the start of the war in 2003.  Garrett Darrel Watson was the 2005 recipient; Elizabeth Mai Curie was the recipient in 2004 and the first recipient was Jonathan Reitz in 2003.

 

  
The namesake of the scholarship is Jack Reneau who has worked as a wildlife biologist since his graduation from CSU in 1973.  Jack first worked for the Colorado Division of Wildlife as a conservation aide near Montrose and then was hired by the U.S.D.A. Forest Service to work at the Daniel Boone National Forest as a timber crew boss.  He entered Eastern Kentucky University (EKU) as a graduate assistant in 1975 and finished his M.S. in wildlife biology with a major in waterfowl in 1979 while working for the National Rifle Association as the keeper of records for the famous Boone and Crockett Club's records keeping program in the Hunting Department of NRA.  He became a certified wildlife biologist upon completion of his master's degree.  Susan and Jack wrote their first book together in 1982 titled Colorado's Biggest Bucks and Bulls while he worked again for the U.S.D.A. Forest Service on Six Rivers National Forest.  In 1983 Jack was hired by the Boone and Crockett Club as the director of big game records and has since authored and edited 29 books on big game and hunting.  Jack remains in that position.  Jack was an Eagle Scout in high school and founder of the student chapter of The Wildlife Society at EKU.   He served as a sergeant in the U.S. Army Intelligence Corps in Vietnam prior to entrance into CSU.   

The scholarship at CSU is a living tribute to honor Jack for his years of wildlife management contributions and for being such a great husband to Susan.  The scholarship also honors upcoming wildlife management students who are the future of our nation's natural heritage.  If you know anyone who attends CSU in the wildlife biology department, please apply for this scholarship!  Proceeds from the sale of Susan's many books pay for the annual Jack Reneau Wildlife Management Scholarship Fund, so each time you buy a book you help a wildlife biology student at CSU.