Patrick Durkin: Christine Thomas most deserving of latest honor

Of course, it helps Thomas’ profile that she’s been dean, associate dean or interim dean of the College of Natural Resources at UW-Stevens Point nearly 20 years; and served 11 years on Wisconsin’s governor-appointed Natural Resources Board, including three years as its chair.

And yes, it also helps that she founded the nationally recognized Becoming an Outdoors-Woman program; serves or has served on the governing boards and highest councils of Ducks Unlimited, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and the Boone and Crockett Club; and served at the presidents’ pleasure on hunting heritage councils coordinated by the Department of the Interior during the George W. Bush and Barack Obama administrations.

But perhaps nothing distinguishes Thomas more than the fact she was doing almost all those things at once — and for years. And she’s still the CNR’s dean and an active DU Board member, which means she’s also helping UWSP host the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Federal Duck Stamp Art Competition this fall, Sept. 15-16, to be exact.

Therefore, it seems fair that Thomas will be inducted into the Wisconsin Conservation Hall of Fame on April 22 while she’s still around to applaud her own enshrinement. In fact, that’s probably the easiest multi-tasking assignment she’ll ever juggle.

Given her humility and sense of humor, Thomas could even give her own induction address without looking vain. Lord knows she’s a master of such talks. She gave stirring WCHF induction tributes for Wilhelmine La Budde in 1990, Daniel O. Trainer in 2006, Herb Behnke in 2009 and Jay Reed in 2014.

But that’s one job Thomas won’t tackle. She concedes that getting inducted into the WCHF, which now has 91 members, feels like an ending. She’s at a stage in life when one thinks of transitions, worries about when to retire, and wonders what else remains.

But then a friend sent a congratulatory email about her pending induction, and joked that there’s nothing left to accomplish.

“That snapped me out of it,” she said with her trademark guffaw. “There’s still a lot left to do. The sun’s still shining and the dog’s still running.”

She meant that literally. While being interviewed for this column, Thomas was working with Major, a 2-year-old Airedale terrier, stopping occasionally to whistle for it. “He’s naturally aggravating,” she said, again laughing. “Not evil; just busy.”

Thomas and her husband, Stan, are Michigan natives who came to central Wisconsin in 1977 to farm. Her life as a multi-tasker soon took off when she enrolled in UWSP’s master’s program in 1978, and a few years later pursued a Ph.D., which she earned in 1989. She even gave birth to their daughter, Shannon, about halfway in between those milestones.

The more Thomas studied, the harder she fell for Wisconsin’s natural resources, and the culture, policies and agencies that protect them. She even devoted her Ph.D. dissertation to researching the state’s seven-citizen Natural Resources Board, which she eventually got appointed to in 2004 by Gov. Jim Doyle, and reappointed through 2015.

She unabashedly admires Wisconsin’s conservation ethic and those who embody it.

“Wherever you go, you find people out there every day working on things they believe in,” Thomas said. “I’m trying to believe that our state remains a good place to raise your family, and will remain so far into the future. People here grab onto issues and devote themselves to the cause. Look at our state parks. They all have ‘friends’ groups that volunteer to work on trails and fields, weed out invasive species, build shelters and buildings, and treat that state park as if it’s their own — which it is.”

Thomas also adores the thousands of CNR students she’s overseen, whose love for natural resources matched her own.

“Other than my family, the College of Natural Resources has been my focus the past 40 years,” she said. “I’ve always said I’ve had the best job in the world, but that was especially true when I was a professor and teaching. I loved going to work every day.”

She concedes her chauvinism for CNR students without apology.

“I love shaping the futures of people who are so smart and so dedicated to their studies,” she said. “Our students could have gone into engineering, medical school or earned MBAs. They could make six-figure salaries, but here they are aspiring to $25,000-a-year (limited term employee) jobs because they want to save the world. That’s who is here, and who we’re surrounded by. Their focus is positive resource management. They’re fun and exciting to be around. They give you hope for the future.”

Thomas also treasures the memories of countless people she worked with during her career, many of whom preceded her into the Hall of Fame. She considers Trainer her mentor, and says it’s no coincidence she followed his lead by serving on the NRB and as the CNR’s dean.

“I’m always quoting Dan Trainer about something because, hands down, he was my biggest influence,” Thomas said. “He helped me understand that luck is just where preparation meets opportunity. I never set out to be dean, but when the opportunity came along, I was ready to seize it.”

Thomas also admires conservation leaders she never met, such as Aldo Leopold and Theodore Roosevelt.

“I love the roots, the romance of American conservation and our public-lands legacy,” she said. “The most valuable work I did on the Board was add to our state’s public lands. They’re a great public resource. They give so many people great places to hunt and fish with their families; not only this generation, but their children’s and their grandchildren’s children.”

That commitment might also explain why Thomas seems in no hurry to retire, or even discuss retirement.

“All I know is that I’ll be in conservation no matter what it might be,” she said. “I’ve hardly known a time where my personal life left off and my professional life started. How many people can say that? Why would I want to give that up?”