Bass Pro's Morris helps honor President Bush for conservation work

Bass Pro Shops founder and CEO John Morris was among a group of conservation leaders this week to honor former President George H.W. Bush for outdoor preservation work during his career.

As part of celebrations for the former president's 90th birthday - which was June 12 - Morris met in Kennebunkport, Maine, with Bush and a host of outdoor enthusiasts and executives, including Matt Connolly, president of the Bonefish and Tarpon Trust; George Dunklin Jr., president of Ducks Unlimited; and Mike Nussman, president and CEO of the American Sportfishing Association, according to a news release.

During the June 17 event, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation CEO Jeff Trandahl announced a $1 million donation toward the creation of the President George H. W. Bush Conservation Fund to support conservation projects benefiting fish, wildlife and their habitats. The fund's first effort, a $2 million initiative supported by Bass Pro and the fish and wildlife foundation, will support a fish recovery and habitat restoration project for the Penobscot River in Maine, according to the release.

Morris also contributed another $125,000 to the Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation in Bush's honor, which is earmarked for use in the foundation's Hispanic outreach campaign.

Morris pointed to Bush's work to improve hunting and fishing land during his career.

“Most people aren’t fully aware of all that President Bush has done for conservation," Morris said in the release. "During his presidency, he established 56 new wildlife refuges, more than even President Theodore Roosevelt, conserving more than 3 million acres of nationally significant public land."