Missouri's conservation director will step down

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Missouri Conservation Department Director Jerry Conley said Friday that he is retiring and will move back to Idaho to spend time with his grandchildren.

Conley, 60, who will retire in July, had directed Missouri's agency since 1996 and previously was head of Kansas' conservation agency and Idaho's fish and game agency.

"I'm leaving the agency in excellent shape, as far as both programs and financial management," Conley said in a statement. "The key has been hiring good people and letting them do their jobs."

Conservation Commission Chairman Anita Gorman of Kansas City said she accepted Conley's announcement "with regret and great gratitude. He has done a fine job leading the department, which continues to be one of the best-respected conservation agencies in the nation."

During his tenure, Conley oversaw a variety of changes including soaring waterfowl populations created by the state's participation in the North American Waterfowl Management Plan.

Also, Conley helped secure major wetland acquisitions in floodplain areas of the Missouri River damaged in the floods of 1993 and 1995.