The mission of the Game Conservancy USA (GCUSA), is to promote the conservation of game and wildlife habitats domestically and worldwide, primarily through the support of the research and educational initiatives of the United Kingdom’s Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT). The GWCT (www.gwct.org.uk) is the leading UK charity conducting research into the enhancement of the countryside for the public benefit, employing over 60 research scientists whose focus is the following objectives:  To promote for the public benefit the conservation of game and its associated flora and fauna; To conduct research into game and wildlife management (including the use of game animals as a natural resource) and the effects of farming and other land management practices on the environment, and to publish the useful results of such research; To advance the education of the public and those managing the countryside in the effects of farming and management of land which is sympathetic to game and other wildlife; To conserve game and wildlife for the public benefit including: where it is for the protection of the environment, the conservation or promotion of biological diversity through the provision, conservation, restoration, or enhancement of a natural habitat; or the maintenance or recovery of a species in its natural habitat. The GCUSA is chartered as a 501 (c) (3) organization; Federal Tax ID # 72-1054351 | Officers Mr. Bruce D. Sargent - President Mr. John M.B. O’Connor - Treasurer
Mr. John A. Cahill - Secretary
Board of Trustees Mr. John Argenti Mrs. Janet Crawford Nolan Ambassador Edward E. Elson Mr J. Pepe Fanjul Mr. Randall A. Greene
Mr. Dale E. Miller Mr. Frank A. Miller Mr. Arturo Peralta-Ramos Mr. David G. Santry Mr. Edward L. Shugrue III Mr. Robert L. Sterling Jr. Advisory Committee Mrs. Teresa Dent Chief Executive GWCT The Hon. Philip Astor Mr. Chris Batha Dr. John Carroll Mr. Roger Mitchell Mr. Joseph Prather Mr. Richard Purdey |
The Game Conservancy USA arose from conversations held in 1985 and 1986 between members of the Game Conservancy Trust (GCT) (UK) and B.Z. Lee, founding president of the organization, initially called American Friends of the Game Conservancy (AFGC). Mr. Lee met with then Vice-Chairman The Earl Peel, Director Richard Van Oss, and member Michael Bowman-Vaughn in the UK and in Dallas Texas to discuss the creation of a US charitable organization that could increase donations by providing existing US supporters with the benefit of making their donations tax deductible in the United States. In 1998, the AFGC moved to Vero Beach, Florida, and the Board elected to change the name to Game Conservancy USA (GCUSA), to reflect the organization’s commitment to conservation in the US as well as in the UK. While financial support continued to be directed primarily to the research efforts of the GCT, there was growing interest in the application of that research to US projects, specifically the maintenance of the Great Plains Pheasant, Southeast Quail, and Alaska Spruce Grouse. In 1999 the organization moved to Connecticut under new Executive Directors, originally Chris van Munching and subsequently Guy Bignell. The GCUSA continued to direct its financial support to the GCT (now GWCT), with its fundraising efforts focused on generating interest and recruiting new members amongst the numerous shooting clubs in the New York and New England metropolitan region, encompassing the states of New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts and Connecticut. AS GCUSA celebrates its 25th anniversary, plans are to expand interest regionally and nationally by connecting with people sympathetic to the GWCT’s mission, and who understand the relevance of its important research to game and wildlife conditions world-wide. Each year, in November, GCUSA hosts a major sporting auction in New York, with exciting lots from around the world featuring some of the most exclusive driven grouse and partridge shooting available in the UK, along with the opportunity to stay in some very prestigious stately homes. Additionally, GCUSA hosts sporting events in the New York metropolitan region, augmented by social occasions and informational events sponsored by the Board of Trustees. |