‘Father’ of NAWMP, Harvey Nelson, Dies
Harvey Nelson, one of the nation’s most respected wetland and waterfowl managers, died February 21 of heart failure. He was 85.
Nelson, of Bloomington, Minnesota, had a 42-year-old professional career with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, becoming director of the agency’s Midwest Region, where he was responsible for programs in eight states.
He became the first director of the Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center in North Dakota.
In 1986, he received the Fish and Wildlife Service's Distinguished Service Award, the highest honor given to employees by the Secretary of the Interior. In 1987, Nelson was appointed the first executive director of the North American Waterfowl Management Plan, an international effort to conserve waterfowl.
“Harvey Nelson was an amazing man—a kind-hearted gentlemen in every respect—and he will be deeply missed,” said Delta Waterfowl Senior Vice President John Devney. “Even in retirement, he never stopped working for waterfowl and waterfowl habitat, and scores of duck hunters—in Minnesota and elsewhere—owe him a debt of gratitude.”
