Lee and Ramona Bass to be inducted into Texas Conservation Hall of Fame

2019 Texas Conservation Hall of Fame Inductees to be honored at Fort Worth Event

Lee and Ramona Bass to be honored April 11 at the Fort Worth Zoo

Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation (TPWF) will honor Lee and Ramona Bass at the 2019 Texas Conservation Hall of Fame event on April 11 at the Fort Worth Zoo. The two are being recognized for their decades of conservation efforts in Texas and beyond.

“We’re pleased to celebrate Lee and Ramona Bass,” said Mike Greene, chair of TPWF’s board of trustees. “Ramona and Lee exemplify the best in Texas conservation and philanthropy. Their partnership has had an untold and lasting impact on our wild things and wild places. They are committed to conservation on their home ground and around the world. We are honored to recognize them.”

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For more than 30 years, Ramona Bass has been a driving force at the Fort Worth Zoo, a key figure behind its privatization and recognition as one of the top five zoos in the country. As Chair of the Fort Worth Zoological Association’s Board of Directors, she has channeled her commitment into critical conservation programs ranging from native horned lizard propagation and translocation in Texas to international black rhino breeding programs. One of the zoo’s signature exhibits, Texas Wild!, celebrates native Texas wildlife, habitats and the management strategies that help them thrive. In 2002, she was appointed by then-TPW Chairman Joseph Fitzsimons as Vice Chair of the TPW Outreach and Education Advisory Committee. In 2003, Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton appointed her to serve on the National Wildlife Refuge System Centennial Commission, and in 2012, she was awarded the Botanical Research Institute of Texas International Award of Excellence in Conservation.

Lee Bass has taken a leadership role in Texas Parks and Wildlife matters for decades. He served two terms on the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission, first appointed in 1989 by Gov. Bill Clements. Six years later, Gov. George W. Bush designated him as chairman of the Commission, and in 2001, Gov. Rick Perry named him Chairman Emeritus. He currently serves as chair of the TPWD White-Tailed Deer Advisory Committee, Chairman Emeritus of The Peregrine Fund, and as a founding member of the International Rhino Foundation.

Among many other initiatives over the years, Ramona and Lee helped found South Texas Natives, now known as the Texas Native Seeds Program, at Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute. They have been highly involved in the University of Texas at Austin Biodiversity Center and in the reintroduction of the Aplomado falcon in South Texas.

“I can’t think of a couple that has had a longer and more substantial impact on wildlife conservation and private land stewardship in Texas than Lee and Ramona Bass,” said Ralph Duggins, chairman of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission. “They are an extraordinary team and have devoted a significant part of their lives to conservation.”

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Ramona and Lee have invested in countless TPWD projects, from facilities at the Kerr Wildlife Management Area and the Game Warden Training Center, to research at the Chaparral Wildlife Management Area after devastating wildfires, and most recently, to restoring Coastal Fisheries facilities and equipment following Hurricane Harvey.

Lee and Ramona Bass will be honored at the sold-out Texas Conservation Hall of Fame dinner on April 11, 2019, at the Fort Worth Zoo. For more information, call 214.720.1478 or email HOF@tpwf.org

Event information: http://www.tpwf.org/happenings/conservation-hall-of-fame/