MADISON — A new man will represent District 2 on the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks Commission. Tate Reeves nominated Drew St. John to replace Scott Coopwood on the Commission effective July 1 if he is confirmed by the Senate.

St. John’s wife, Kathy St. John is originally from Brookhaven. Her maiden name is Moreton. The couple met while they were students at Mississippi State University and now live in Madison. 

A Hattiesburg native, St. John developed a love for hunting at a young age when quail were plentiful. 

“I got a shotgun for Christmas when I was 10. My dad also died when I was 10. I went out quail hunting with my grandfather and we jumped up a covey of quail. I shot a quail out of the covey and still have it mounted. I’ve been hooked ever since. I’m big into hunting and fishing.”

St. John said his family had a fishing camp in Vancleave where they fished for speckled trout, redfish and other species. Fishing with his grandfather outside of Nashville is where he and his brother Robert St. John learned about conservation. 

“He really instilled conservation within us from day one. Lessons like always respect wildlife, follow the rules,” St. John said. 

In college, St. John attended Mississippi State University and earned a degree in Landscape Construction. As a fun fact, he served as MSU’s mascot “Bully” from 1976 to 1978. St. John said it was hot inside the mascot outfit but the experience was fun. 

He explained lessons learned from Landscape Construction at MSU have made a lasting impact on his conservation efforts. 

“With landscape construction, we had to take soils and plant identification courses.” St. John said. “I had a good base for conservation. I just picked up the rest of my conservation knowledge through seminars and teaching opportunities.”

After college, St. John was able to apply ideas of conservation to his work. St. John said he built roads using mats to provide temporary access to power lines and pipeline work through wetlands without harming them.

“I turned conservation and the appreciation of wetlands into a business,” St. John said. “I sold the business in 2016 but the system is still used today. After work was completed on a site the wetland recovered.”

Currently, St. John serves on the Mississippi State University Wildlife, Fisheries and Aquaculture Advisory Board and as chairman of the Mississippi Outdoor Stewardship Trust Fund. He started an endowed professorship for Bronson Strickland and the Mississippi State University Deer Lab which has helped educate people on deer management. 

If St. John is confirmed by the Mississippi Senate, his service on the Mississippi Outdoor Stewardship Trust Fund Board will help the MDWFP commission.

“The experience does help because it is connected with a lot of different people working in conservation, the MDWFP and with the Foundation for Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks,” St. John said. “We coordinate with the Nature Conservancy and Ducks Unlimited. It puts me in a sphere of influence.”

St. John said his vision for the MDWFP commission is to take Chronic Wasting Disease seriously and assess the situation. 

MDWFP reported a record-breaking 125 positives of the 100 percent, always fatal disease in the state deer herd this year. To date, hunters submitted 9,772 samples this past deer season. More CWD samples and results could trickle in.

“States out west have managed CWD for 35 years. We need to continue to study the problem and the spread. We need to be very conscientious and protect our deer herd,” St. John said. “Our deer program coordinator William McKinley has done a great job. We have got to make sure we make sound decisions based on science. CWD is marching forward and it is something we have to take care of. It’s real.”