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Rex Boner
Vice President / Southeastern Representative, The Conservation Fund

Rex Boner is Vice President and Southeast Representative for The Conservation Fund (TCF), a national nonprofit organization based in Arlington, Virginia that is dedicated to conserving America's land and water resources. A primary goal of TCF is to undertake sustainable projects that demonstrate ways to integrate economic and environmental objectives. Working in partnership with conservation organizations, foundations, businesses and public agencies, the TCF has protected over 6 million acres of forestland, wildlife habitat, wetlands, historic sites and open space since its founding in 1985, including over 132,000 acres in Tennessee.

Rex, whose office is in the Atlanta area, has an undergraduate degree in biology from Wabash College and a masters degree from the University of Tennessee in ecology. He began his conservation career in 1975 with the Tennessee Heritage Program, a cooperative natural areas inventory effort between The Nature Conservancy and the Tennessee Department of Conservation. Following that, he was Regional Director of Land Stewardship for The Nature Conservancy in Minneapolis, overseeing TNC's nature preserve system in 12 midwestern states.

In 1985, he opened an office for The Nature Conservancy (TNC) in Atlanta to expand the land protection activities of TNC throughout Georgia. An early accomplishment was the establishment of the Georgia Natural Heritage Inventory in cooperation with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources that continues today.

In 1988, Rex joined The Conservation Fund to expand its land and water conservation efforts in the southeast. In cooperation with several other organizations, he has contributed to the successful establishment of the Pinhoti Trail, a spur trail to the Appalachian Trail that will soon connect into eastern Alabama; to the establishment of the Alcovy River Greenway in cooperation with the Georgia Wildlife Federation and to the protection of the property on which GWF has its statewide headquarters; to the protection of 16,000 acres of forestland adjacent to Okefenokee NWR; to the protection of over 1,750 acres in the Arabia Mountain-Panola Mountain project area in metro-Atlanta; to the protection of over 20,000 acres in Red Hills of Georgia and Florida in partnership with others; to the protection of over 2,500 acres of forestlands at Callaway Gardens through a Forest Legacy Conservation easement; to the purchase of the 4,000 acre Beasley Tract on the Wolf River in cooperation with the Wolf River Conservancy and the State of Tennessee; to the establishment of the 8,000 acre DuPont State Forest in Brevard, N.C., to the creation of the 10,000 acre Bridgestone/Firestone Centennial Wilderness Area; to the protection of the 75,000 acre Cumberland Forest in the Sundquist WMA adjacent to Royal Blue Wildlife Management Area in Tennessee; and to the purchase of Cumberland Trail State Park corridor lands in Tennessee.

He was co-creator of Restoration and Management Notes, a forum for land management information exchange published by the University of Wisconsin Press. In 1989 he organized the first Environmental Issues for Governor and Lt. Governor candidates for the Georgia Environmental Council. In 1993 in cooperation with GWF he co-produced Sound Journey: The Natural Sounds of Georgia, an entertaining presentation of naturally occurring sounds in diverse habitats with original music. He serves on the Callaway Preserve Board, formerly on the University of Tennessee Department of Forestry, Wildlife and Fisheries Advisory Board and as past co-chairman of the Georgia Forest Resources Council.

He is the recipient of the Georgia Environmental Council Special Achievement Award in 1988 and 1990; the Alabama Hiking Association Award in 1991; the Georgia Wildlife Federation Special Conservation Award for Building Partnerships in 1994; the Tennessee Wildlife Society Professional Award in 1998; the Bridgestone/Firestone Steuben Eagle Award for Outstanding Contributions in 2000; and the Cumberland Trail Conference Award in 2001.

He and wife Joyce, (UT graduate) are parents of Justin, 29; Rosemary, 27 and Ross, 23.