Russell E. Train
1920-2012
Russell E. Train was founder and chairman emeritus of World Wildlife Fund. One of the most influential and well-known leaders in American conservation, Train served as administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under Presidents Nixon and Ford, before becoming president and chairman of World Wildlife Fund from 1978 to 1990. He had been a founding director of WWF in 1961. He became chairman of the Board of Directors of World Wildlife Fund and of The Conservation Foundation in 1985, continuing in that position when the two institutions merged formally as WWF in 1990.
Train was elected WWF chairman emeritus in September 1994 and served as chairman of the WWF National Council from 1994 to 2001. Under his guidance, World Wildlife Fund-US grew from a small, primarily grant-making organization into a global conservation force with over 1 million members. Earlier, following service in World War II, he served the Congress as attorney on the staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation, as chief of staff of the House Ways and Means Committee and later as Minority Advisor of the committee, as Assistant to the Secretary and Head of the Legal Advisory Staff of the Treasury Department and as a judge of the U.S. Tax Court. Travels to Africa strengthened a passion and respect for wildlife, and Train founded the African Wildlife Leadership Foundation in 1961.
Travels to Africa strengthened a passion and respect for wildlife for Russell E. Train, pictured here with his wife Aileen in 1958. He went on to found the African Wildlife Leadership Foundation in 1961.
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In 1961 World Wildlife Fund was founded, and Russell E. Train became the first vice president of WWF-US. Here he is pictured with his wife Aileen, who shared his passion for conservation.
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At the age of 45, Russell E. Train left his position as a United States Tax Court judge to become president of the Conservation Foundation in 1965.
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Russell E. Train, far left, was selected in 1968 to serve as chairman, Task Force on Environment for the U.S. President-elect, Richard M. Nixon. His selection, and the creation of the task force, signaled the growing acceptance by the incoming administration of the “environment” as a public policy concept. In 1970, Train became the first chairman of the Council on Environmental Quality, an advisory group serving the president and top governmental officials.
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Russell E. Train was the administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from 1973 to 1977. During that time, he oversaw the creation and implementation of much of the legislation that would become the basis for environmental policy in the United States, from clean air and water laws to the Toxic Substance Control Act.
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Train became President and Chairman of WWF in 1978 and served in that capacity until 1985. Under his guidance, World Wildlife Fund-US expanded its focus not only on species-related conservation projects, but also on protecting habitat by establishing national parks and nature reserves.
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In 1991, Russell E. Train received the nation's highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom from U.S. President George H.W. Bush in recognition of his work in conservation. Train was also the recipient of 14 honorary degrees from colleges and universities across the nation.
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Russell E. Train's commitment to conservation actively continues through the Russell E. Train Education for Nature Fund, an endowment established in 1994 in his honor by WWF to provide financial support and educational training to the next generation of international conservation leaders. Here, Russell E. Train with grantees, and EFN Director Shaun Martin, top left.
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He became President of The Conservation Foundation from 1965 to 1969 and Under Secretary of the Department of the Interior from 1969 to 1970. Train was the first chairman of the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) in the Executive Office of the President from 1970 to 1973, before becoming Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from 1973 to 1977. While at the CEQ and EPA, Train oversaw the creation and implementation of much of the legislation that would become the basis for environmental policy in the United States, from clean air and water laws to the Toxic Substance Control Act. His visionary leadership brought new attention to land use concerns, delivered innovative international agreements on endangered species and pollution control, and helped bring the issue of the environment to the broad attention of the American public.
He received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1991 in recognition of his work in conservation. His commitment to conservation actively continues through the Russell E. Train Education for Nature Program, an endowment established in his honor by WWF to provide financial support and educational training to the next generation of international conservation leaders.