22 



We had a mix of board members. Many of the early members — 

 David Packard, John Bookout — they were major corporate titans, 

 and they do not really know the ins and outs of State fish and 

 game agencies which operate under a number of constraints and 

 political situations. For example, many report to commissions, and 

 there are a number of complexities to the way they do business. 



We have used and continue to use State directors at the staff 

 level. We pick up the phone and work with them as much has we 

 can. But there is a very real value in having a State director in the 

 board meeting who can speak to questions or clarify issues for the 

 benefit of other board members whose business backgrounds have 

 not given them a glimpse of the operations of State agencies. 



Mr. HocHBRUECKNER. Thank you. 



For Mr. Dennis and Mr. Sutherland, you both draw complimen- 

 tary pictures of the Foundation. Given your individual experiences, 

 how would you prioritize the grant-making facilities of the Founda- 

 tion? And do you have specific criticisms or suggestions? 



Mr. Dennis. 



Mr. Dennis. OK. I don't have any criticisms of how they estab- 

 lish their priorities. I think they have that under control. 



I would like to go back to the issue, if it is OK to talk more about 

 the board makeup. That is the area where I have expertise in 20 

 years with The Nature Conservancy in our State chapters and 

 what not. 



I think it is important to emphasize that one of the things that I 

 have seen with regard to expanding the size of the board to 15, 

 when you look at a board you are looking for what they used to 

 call the three W's: work, wisdom and wealth. I think the work is 

 covered pretty well by the staff, but the wisdom and wealth is 

 where these other issues come in, where it is important to have a 

 balance between people who have expertise in the area. 



The idea of having people educated in fish and wildlife, having a 

 State fish and — at least one fish and game director is very impor- 

 tant. 



Secondly, when you talk about the wealth factor, it is very im- 

 portant in an organization like this to have a board you can rely on 

 to raise money for you. This is a tremendous burden on the staff to 

 go out and raise operational funds. The board should be doing that. 



That is my personal view, but I think others share that. 



The other factor is an organization that tries to cover all the 

 United States and other parts of North America. 9 to 15 may sound 

 like a big jump, but it really isn't. You have to have geographic 

 representation. Nine people doesn't give you the people to cover 

 the full region. 



I just want to go back and once again really urge the Commit- 

 tee — I know it is in the proposal, but that is a very important part 

 of this legislation, the expansion. 



Mr. Hochbrueckner. Thank you. 



Mr. Sutherland. 



Mr. Sutherland. I will echo Mike's comments on not having 

 comments or suggestions in their priorities. 



I think they have done an excellent job. They have a very, very 

 diverse portfolio, and if I was going to think of one thing they 



