Cochran valued important lessons of outdoors
In a way, last week was a sad one for me. On the other hand, it is a celebration. April 1 was the last day of Thad Cochran’s elected public service, which spanned 45 years.
Think back to what life in Mississippi was like in 1973.
Much has changed, for the good, I might add.
Some people go to Washington to make a point. Thad Cochran did not go for that. Leader McConnell said it best.
“Thad knows there’s a difference between making a fuss and making a difference,” McConnell said. “The people of Mississippi – and our whole nation – have benefitted from his steady determination to do the latter.”
I have known Senator Cochran for almost 30 years. I first met him when I had the opportunity of a lifetime to serve him, our great state and our great nation. I worked for him in his Senate office in Washington, D.C. I remember him telling me when I first started that both “conservation” and “conservative” have the same Latin roots. He asked me to approach my work with that in mind. I still try to do that every day.
Senator Cochran has done so much that it would take a forest to make the necessary paper to list it all, but in my world of conservation and sporting issues, he is a champion.
Cochran grew up hunting and fishing and values the important lessons and experiences people can gain from being outdoors. He has consistently represented the interests of hunters, anglers and gun owners by supporting policies that protect our Second Amendment rights, promote conservation, especially on private lands, minimize burdensome or unnecessary regulations, and expand access to public lands.
Senator Cochran authored a wildlife incentives program, which has restored and enhanced almost 7 million acres with 31,000 landowners. He has championed Wetlands Reserve, which is a voluntary program that has restored 3 million acres with 18,000 landowners. He has helped create programs to restore longleaf pine and native grasslands. He has created the only refuge in the nation named for an African American – Holt Collier. The list goes on. Add up the list above and Senator Cochran has touched about 12 million acres, which is the same size as the State of Maryland. There is no other Senator with the conservation accomplishments of Thad Cochran.
The greatest thing about Senator Cochran has nothing to do with conservation. It is the respect that people have for him. He has earned that by listening more than talking, recognizing the needs of others, being honest, fair, and caring more about what is right than popular. He is a brilliant individual who has done a great job by surrounding himself with a staff consisting of the same.
Senator Cochran, thank you for your friendship and, most of all, thank you for a lifetime of dedicated service to the greatest state and greatest nation in the world. We are all truly blessed by your 45 years of service in the U.S. Congress.
This fall, as citizens, we will have to cast our vote for a new Senator to fill some mighty large shoes. Let’s study the record of the candidates carefully to make sure they also have a record of making a difference such as those before them like Cochran, Lott, Stennis, Eastland, Howie, and Lamar. As citizens, it is not only a privilege, it is our duty.
James L. Cummins is executive director of Wildlife Mississippi, a non-profit, conservation organization founded to conserve, restore and enhance fish, wildlife and plant resources throughout Mississippi. Their website is www.wildlifemiss.org. The opinions in this column are Cummins’ and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Starkville Daily News or its staff.