Riverkeeper Of The Year

Jim Schramm, the coordinator and legal counsel for the Michigan Hydro Relicensing Coalition, the president of The Great Lakes Council of FFF, and a founding board member of The Anglers, was awarded the Riverkeeper of the Year for 1996 by The Anglers at its board meeting in September.

Jim has been an attorney for about twelve years, practicing in Lansing, Hastings, and now in Pentwater. He has degrees from The Thomas Cooley Law School (J.D.), the University of Wisconsin (M.A.), and Michigan State University (B.A.).

Prior to his career as an attorney, Jim, upon graduation from MSU, entered military service and served with distinction for over twenty years, retiring in 1984 as a Lieutenant Colonel. His service included tours of duty in Vietnam and Korea, and in many stateside posts. Upon retirement, Jim was the senior advisor to the Michigan National Guard. He was also a graduate of the Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.

It is an understatement to say that Jim has been very busy in the past ten years. In the introduction above I've mentioned a couple of current positions he holds in service to the environment, trout, and rivers. Let me tell you about a few others. He has been a member of many committees, such as the Governor's Camp Grayling Advisory Committee and the DNR's Blue Ribbon Trout Stream Committee. He is presently a member of the DNR's Lake Michigan Task Force and the DNR's Cold Water Fishing Regulations Review Committee, and is a current director of FFF, the Michigan Wildlife Habitat Foundation, the Pere Marquette Watershed Council, and The Anglers. He also is the Legal Counsel for the Federation of Fly Fishers.

He has received many awards from FFF, T.U., and now from the Anglers. (He shared a Riverkeeper Award in 1994 for his work on the Michigan Hydro Relicensing Coalition representing both the Anglers and FFF.)

I first met Jim in 1985 when the Holy Water catch-and-release dispute was in the Grayling district court. Jim, representing FFF, had intervened in the dispute and had filed an amicus brief supporting the more restrictive regulations. This was prior to the formation of the Anglers. His action and FFF's support was crucial and rewarding in this stage of the legal battle.

Later, when we decided to form The Anglers we turned to Jim because he knew how to start an organization such as ours from scratch. He knew how to do it properly with all the legal safeguards and requirements. I don't know what we would have done without him. (I later discovered he has performed this service many times for FFF around the country.)

So in January 1987 we had our first organizational meeting and Jim led the way. He was a founding director and has been on our board since that cold winter day with his wise advice and firm leadership. Jim was also instrumental in forming the Hydro Coalition and largely due to his efforts we, The Anglers, have been a part of this very successful and precedent-setting environmental coalition.

So personally, and collectively as your board of directors, we have been very fortunate to have Jim Schramm as a member this past decade and honored to have him as a friend and advisor. He richly deserves this award for being so generous with his time and for being so expert with his advice.

He has been a true and dedicated Riverkeeper.RWOL

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