Governor Mike Huckabee: Going the extra mile for a cause

Governor of Arkansas from 1996 to 2007, Mike Huckabee, 51, is an avid angler and hunter and a 2008 Republican presidential candidate. Just months into his governorship, Huckabee helped pass Amendment 75, "The Conservation Amendment." This amendment to the state constitution designated that 1/8 of 1 percent of the state's general sales tax go to four agencies, including the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission (AGFC).
The amendment surfaced before Huckabee took office, notes Steve Smith, president of the Arkansas Game and Fish Foundation, but it didn't have the political legs to go forward. Then Huckabee got involved.
"He and his wife, Janet, endorsed our effort by making a special trip down the Arkansas River, from Fort Smith to Dumas, in their bass boat to draw attention to the amendment," says Smith. "They made sixteen stops along the way and got a lot of media attention."
Approved in 1996, the amendment pumps approximately $26 million annually into AGFC coffers alone, which the agency has used to build state-of-the-art nature centers. Huckabee also improved public access for hunters and anglers, and instituted programs to get kids fishing. "He wanted every young person in the state to be within a bicycle ride of a fishing opportunity," says Smith. In 1997, Huckabee was honored as the Man of the Year by the American Sportfishing Association, and in 2000 entered the Arkansas Outdoor Hall of Fame.

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