OUR STORY
The origins of Game Conservancy USA in 1985 arose from conversations 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 GCT Vice-Chairman The Earl Peel, Director Richard Van Oss, and member Michael Bowman-Vaughn in both the UK and in Dallas Texas to discuss the creation of a US charitable organization that could increase donations to GCT by providing US supporters with the benefit of making their donations tax deductible in the United States.
In 1998, 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 GCUSA moved it headquarters to Connecticut, where it remains. GCUSA continues to direct its financial support to the GCT, renamed The Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT), with membership and fundraising efforts focused primarily on generating interest amongst the numerous shooting clubs in the New York and New England metropolitan region. It is important to note, however, that the GCUSA membership extends across the U.S. and is open to all people sympathetic to the mission of prudent game, wildlife and habitat management, and who appreciate the relevance of the GWCT's important research to game and wildlife conditions worldwide.
Each year, in November, GCUSA hosts a major sporting auction in New York, with exciting lots from around the world and including 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, and private 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.
OUR MISSION
The mission of Game Conservancy USA (GCUSA), is to promote the conservation of game and wildlife and their habitats 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 practical research into the enhancement of the countryside for the public benefit, employing over 60 research scientists whose focus is the following objectives:
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To promote for the public benefit the conservation of game and its associated flora and fauna;
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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 managemen practices on the environment, and to publish the useful results of such research;
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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 othe wildlife;
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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 enhancemen of a natural habitat; or the maintenance or recovery of a species in its natural habitat
GOVERNANCE
Officers
Mr. Bruce D. Sargent - President
Mr. John M.B. O’Connor - Treasurer
Mr. John A. Cahill - Secretary
Board of Trustees
Mr. George W. Banks II
Mr. Ronald Beck
Mr. Donald G. Calder
Ambassador Edward E. Elson
Mr J. Pepe Fanjul
Mr. Randall A. Greene
Mr. David L. Goodman
Mr. Frank A. Miller
Mr. Kyle R. Miller
Mr. Ralph Morgan
Mrs. Janet Crawford Nolan
Dr. Alfonso Lledo-Perez
Mr. Mark V. Rickabaugh
Mr. David G. Santry
Mr. Edward L. Shugrue III
Mr. Aidan J. Synnott
Mr. William T. Vogt, Jr.
William C. Winget
Advisory Committee
Mrs. Teresa Dent
Chief Executive GWCT
The Hon. Philip Astor
Mr. Chris Batha
Dr. John Carroll
Mr. Andrew W. Christie-Miller
Mr. Duncan Clark
Mr. Charles W. Conger
Mr. Roger Mitchell
Mr. Joseph Prather
Mr. Richard Purdey