The Crowing Post:  3/26/07

Lincoln's Brohman Named Wildlife Conservationist of the Year

Pheasants Forever (PF) and the Nebraska Game & Parks Commission (NGPC) awarded Mark Brohman the 2006 Nebraska Wildlife Conservationist of the Year award during PF's annual State Habitat Meeting in February. The annual award recognizes a person that embodies the spirit of partnerships helping PF and the NGPC achieve their wildlife habitat missions. Brohman, the former Administrator of Administration with the NGPC, recently left that post to become the Executive Director of the Nebraska Environmental Trust.

In his administrative position with the NGPC, Brohman essentially served as the legislative liaison amongst conservation organizations, state agencies and Nebraska legislators. "You're under the radar in the legislative arena, but he always had the sportsmen's best interests in mind," said Steve Riley, the NGPC Wildlife Division's Assistant Administrator who nominated Brohman for the award. "Just his approach to things created instant credibility and the trust factor went straight up. When legislators think of the Game & Parks Commission, they only think of a couple of faces; one of those faces is Mark Brohman."

Brohman had the sometimes challenging position of trying to pass and monitor legislation, but in the end, the results were mostly positive for conservation. "Getting to see a final product, what I worked on, seeing the habitat and the wildlife and knowing you had a hand in it is very satisfying," he said.

"To get an award from not only my peers, but also the Pheasants Forever folks is a real honor," Brohman said, "It's very satisfying to receive an award for something I enjoy doing." Though he's taken on a new position, Brohman expects to have many similar duties, and he looks forward to continuing to work closely with PF as the Nebraska Environmental Trust uses a combination of lottery proceeds and private donations to preserve the state's natural resources.

Brohman lives in Lincoln, Neb., with his wife Anessa and their eight-year-old daughter Miranda. Brohman first joined the NGPC in 1993. He graduated from Chadron State College with a Bachelor of Arts in Biology and Chemistry with a minor in Mathematics in 1985, graduated from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln College of Law with a Juris Doctor with an emphasis in natural resources law in 1990 and graduated from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln with a Master of Science in Forestry, Fisheries, and Wildlife with an Entomology minor in 1991.

 habitat today….pheasants forever!