07. Craig Cox, devoted to the outdoors

Sustainable Agriculture Policy with Ron Kroese

In his early years, all Craig Cox wanted to do was be outside. He and a friend would hunt snakes along the bluffs of the Mississippi River near St. Paul, Minnesota, so he could take them home to put in an aquarium.

In today’s podcast, Craig talks with Ron about growing up hunting, fishing, and hiking, and how that shaped his career of working with wildlife, ecology, and natural resources.

Craig has devoted his working life to conservation since joining the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources in 1977 as a field biologist. In 1989, Craig moved to Washington D.C to accept a position as Senior Staff Officer with the Board on Agriculture of the National Academy of Sciences, where he completed three major studies, including “Soil and Water Quality: An Agenda for Agriculture.”

In 1994, he joined the staff of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry to lead the development of the conservation title of the farm bill that was passed in March 1996.

Craig then joined the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service as a Special Assistant to the Chief and served briefly as Acting Deputy Under-Secretary for Natural Resources and Environment in the Department of Agriculture. He moved to Iowa in 1998 to become Executive Director of the Soil and Water Conservation Society.

In August 2008, he joined the Environmental Working Group (EWG). Currently, he is the Senior Advisor on Agriculture and Environmental Policy at EWG.

The interview was conducted on Sept. 4, 2015.

Links this episode:
National Sustainable Agriculture Oral History Archive (video link)
Environmental Working Group
Soil and Water Conservation Society

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