John F. Turner

Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2012

John F. Turner was born in Moose, Wyoming on March 3, 1942.  He was raised in Jackson Hole, Wyoming where his father owned a ranch.  He was educated at the University of Notre Dame, receiving a B.A. in biology in 1964.  He was assistant director for the University of Notre Dame foreign studies program in Innsbruck for 1964-65.  He then attended the University of Michigan and received an M.S. in wildlife ecology in 1970.
 
John then returned to Jackson Hole as a partner at the Triangle X Ranch, a dude ranch in Grand Teton National Park.  In 1983, he was elected to the Wyoming Senate.  He served as the Wyoming Senate’s vice president from 1983 to 1985; senate majority floor leader from 1985 to 1987; and president of the Wyoming Senate from 1987 to 1989.  He was also vice chairman of the board for the National Wetlands System Advisory Board from 1983 to 1987 and was a member of the National Wetlands Policy Forum 1987-88.
 
In 1989, President George H.W. Bush named Turner Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service where he created over 50 wildlife refuges.  He served there until 1983, when he became president and chief executive officer of The Conservation Fund.  He worked there until 2001, when President George W. Bush nominated Turner to be Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs; he subsequently held that office until July 2005.
 
John became the first ever Beverly and Eldon Spicer Visiting Professor in Environmental and Natural Resources at the University of Wyoming in 2006.  Since leaving public service, Turner has served on the Board of Directors of International Paper, Northeast Utilities, Peabody Energy, and Ashland Inc.

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