I can’t be more proud and honored to have served as a board member of the Society of Tympanuchus Cupido Pinnatus, Ltd. (STCP) and help with a recent merger between the STCP and the George Miksch Sutton Avian Research (Sutton Center).

With $1 million being generously gifted from the STCP, the Sutton Center will help continue the STCP’s legacy and further support and expand research and conservation studies on prairie grouse.

Our relationship started when the STCP became one of the sponsors of my book “Save the Last Dance.” I was honored when they asked me to be on the board of their organization – only board member from outside the state of Wisconsin.

During the few years of serving on the board, I’ve met many wonderful people who are passionate about prairie grouse and want nothing more than the survival of this species.

The STCP was found in Wisconsin in 1961 and has a long history of conserving prairie grouse, contributing to many frontiers of prairie research. With its own history as a conservation organization, the decision to merge with the Sutton Center wasn’t an easy one.

However, the decision was made out of passion and love for the species – that it would benefit not only prairie grouse in Wisconsin but also the species as a whole. The STCP will be dissolute as an organization as the Sutton Center ensures that the legacy of the STCP remains as a guiding presence.