Gov. Tate Reeves has made four appointments to the Board of Trustees of the Mississippi Outdoor Stewardship Trust Fund.
“The Lord blessed Mississippi with an abundance of natural beauty. One of my top priorities will always be to conserve our parks, wetlands, and trails for future generations to enjoy and appreciate,” said Reeves. “I am confident that these individuals will help to do exactly that by effectively representing the state and steering the responsible investment of these funds toward impactful conservation efforts.”
Reeves appointed Mr. Dason Colin Maloney of Tupelo to represent the First Congressional District, Mr. Van K. Ray of Yazoo City to represent the Second Congressional District, Mr. Drew Thomas St. John, II of Madison to represent the Third Congressional District, and Mr. David Edward Holman of Bay St. Louis to represent the Fourth Congressional District.
Gov. Tate Reeves signed House Bill 606, the Mississippi Outdoor Stewardship Act which established the new trust fund, in April of this year. State Rep. Bill Kinkade (R-Byhalia) was one of the bill’s sponsors.
The Mississippi Outdoor Stewardship Trust Fund Board will oversee $10 million of state appropriations that can be invested into projects and programs that facilitate care for parks and rivers across Mississippi.
Additionally, with its creation, this new trust fund will unlock millions in federal dollars that Mississippi can invest in further efforts to protect our environment.
The money can be directed toward a variety of issues including improvements to state parks, public water and land restoration, increasing the number of wildlife management areas, protection of wetlands, forests, and grasslands, expansion of conservation education, and improvement of recreation and trails for example.
Outdoor recreation in Mississippi generates over $8 billion in revenue each year and helps to support more than 79,000 jobs.
