Russell E. Train
Encyclopedia
Russell Errol Train was the second Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA), from September 1973 to January 1977, and the Founder Chairman Emeritus of World Wildlife Fund (WWF). As head of the EPA under U.S. Presidents Richard Nixon
and Gerald Ford
, Train is generally credited with helping to place the issue of the environment on the presidential and national agenda in the late 1960s and early 1970s, a key period in the environmental movement.
, but grew up in Washington, D.C.
. His father was an officer in the United States Navy
who was frequently away. Young Russell attended the Potomac School and then the elite St. Albans School, upon which he graduated from in 1937.
Train matriculated to Princeton University
, where he received an A.B. in political science
in 1941. While there he was in the United States Army
ROTC program and upon graduation entered the Army as an officer. Train remained in the Army for four years during World War II
, stationed both home and overseas and ending up on Okinawa. He attained the rank of major
, before being discharged in 1946.
Over the following two years Train attended Columbia University Law School, where he took an accelerated schedule and graduated with a J.D. in 1948.
In 1954, Train married the former Aileen Bowdoin Travers; they are the parents to four children – Nancy, Emily, Bowdoin and Errol.
Russell E. Train was a judge for the U.S. Tax Court from 1957 to 1965.
(AWF) to aid Africans in developing capacity to manage their own wildlife resources. He was chairman of the AWF from 1961 to 1969. He also helped establish the College of African Wildlife Management
at Mweka (near Moshi
), Tanzania
.
When the World Wildlife Fund (U.S.) was formed in Washington, D.C., on December 1, 1961, Russell Train became its first ever Vice-President; in later years he was named Chair Emeritus of the WWF. He was President of The Conservation Foundation from 1965 to 1969. In this role, Train helps to bring the environment to the American public’s consciousness and lobbies for a high-level policy group at the highest levels of government.
In 1966, Train became a member of the National Water Commission, charged by Congress with reviewing national water policies.
In 1968, Train was selected to serve as Chairman, Task Force on Environment for U.S. President-elect Richard M. Nixon. His selection, and the creation of the task force, signals the growing acceptance by the incoming administration of the “environment” as a public policy concept.
Russell Train served as Under Secretary of the Department of the Interior from 1969 to 1970. Between 1970 and 1973 he was Chairman of the newly formed Council on Environmental Quality
(CEQ).
, Train led during the approval of the catalytic converter
to achieve Clean Air Act
automobile emission reductions; and the implementation of the Toxic Substances Control Act
(TSCA) and the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES).
As head of the EPA under Presidents Nixon and Ford, Train is generally credited with helping to place the issue of the environment on the presidential and national agenda in the late 1960s and early 1970s, a key period in the environmental movement.
Through Train’s efforts, in 1983 the WWF-administered J. Paul Getty Wildlife Conservation Prize was presented to awardees in the White House Rose Garden
by President Ronald Reagan
. President Reagan called the Getty Prize “the Nobel Prize for Conservation.” Begun in 1974, the Getty Prize originally honored outstanding contributions to wildlife conservation and now focuses on the education of future conservationists.
In 1985, Train became Chairman of the Board of Directors of World Wildlife Fund and The Conservation Foundation and served as Chairman until 1994. In this same year, the Conservation Foundation formally affiliated with WWF. Though the organizations shared the same Board of Directors as well as some staff, they remained separate legal entities until their merger in 1990.
During 1988 he also worked as Co-Chairman of Conservationists for Bush, making reference to George H. W. Bush
, and from 1990 to 1992 as Chairman of the National Commission on the Environment.
In September 1994, Train was elected WWF Chairman Emeritus. That same year, WWF launched the Russell E. Train Education for Nature (EFN) Program to help build capacity for conservation in Africa, Asia, and Latin America by supporting academic and mid-career training. To date, EFN has awarded over 1,200 scholarships and training grants totaling 11.3 million since its establishment.
Train was named Chairman of WWF’s National Council from 1994 to 2001.
In 2003, Politics, Pollution and Panda: An Environmental Memoir by Russell E. Train was published. A chronicle of his career, the book is also a history of the birth and growth of U.S. national interest in environmental issues.
from the National Academy of Sciences
.
In 1991, Train received the Presidential Medal of Freedom
in recognition of his work in conservation.
In 2001, Train received the 7th Annual Heinz Award
Chairman's Medal, 2001, a prestigious prize honoring individuals who have made extraordinary achievements on issues of importance. Train was recognized as “a tireless advocate for the cause of the environment since 1961… the architect of an environmental agenda without parallel in history in its scope…and as a “truly outstanding example of how a single life can make a difference in the world.”
Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency
The Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency is the head of the United States federal government's Environmental Protection Agency, and is thus responsible for enforcing the nation's Clean Air and Clean Water Acts, as well as numerous other environmental statutes. The Administrator is...
(EPA), from September 1973 to January 1977, and the Founder Chairman Emeritus of World Wildlife Fund (WWF). As head of the EPA under U.S. Presidents Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
and Gerald Ford
Gerald Ford
Gerald Rudolph "Jerry" Ford, Jr. was the 38th President of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977, and the 40th Vice President of the United States serving from 1973 to 1974...
, Train is generally credited with helping to place the issue of the environment on the presidential and national agenda in the late 1960s and early 1970s, a key period in the environmental movement.
Early life, education, and military service
Russell Train was born in June 1920 in Jamestown, Rhode IslandJamestown, Rhode Island
Jamestown is a town located in Newport County, Rhode Island, in the United States. The population was 5,405 at the 2010 census. Jamestown is situated almost entirely on Conanicut Island, the second largest island in Narragansett Bay.-History:...
, but grew up in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
. His father was an officer in the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
who was frequently away. Young Russell attended the Potomac School and then the elite St. Albans School, upon which he graduated from in 1937.
Train matriculated to Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
, where he received an A.B. in political science
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
in 1941. While there he was in the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
ROTC program and upon graduation entered the Army as an officer. Train remained in the Army for four years during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, stationed both home and overseas and ending up on Okinawa. He attained the rank of major
Major
Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
, before being discharged in 1946.
Over the following two years Train attended Columbia University Law School, where he took an accelerated schedule and graduated with a J.D. in 1948.
Early career
Early in his career, Russell Train served from 1949 to 1956 as Attorney, Chief Counsel, and Minority Advisor on various Congressional committees and from 1956 to 1957 as Assistant to the Secretary and Head of the Legal Advisory Staff for the U.S. Treasury Department.In 1954, Train married the former Aileen Bowdoin Travers; they are the parents to four children – Nancy, Emily, Bowdoin and Errol.
Russell E. Train was a judge for the U.S. Tax Court from 1957 to 1965.
World Wildlife Fund and other environmental organizations
In 1959, Russell Train founded the Wildlife Leadership Foundation in hopes of establishing effective wildlife parks and reserves. In 1961, he founded the African Wildlife FoundationAfrican Wildlife Foundation
The African Wildlife Foundation , founded in 1961 as the African Wildlife Leadership Foundation, is an international conservation organization that focuses on critically important landscapes in Africa....
(AWF) to aid Africans in developing capacity to manage their own wildlife resources. He was chairman of the AWF from 1961 to 1969. He also helped establish the College of African Wildlife Management
College of African Wildlife Management
The College of African Wildlife Management commonly known as Mweka College or just Mweka, is located near the Village of that name on the southern slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, above the city of Moshi, about 14 kilometres north of its centre.The locality also gives its name to the Mweka...
at Mweka (near Moshi
Moshi
Moshi is a Tanzanian town with a population of 144,739 in Kilimanjaro Region. The town is situated on the lower slopes of Mt Kilimanjaro, a volcanic mountain that is the highest mountain in Africa....
), Tanzania
Tanzania
The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...
.
When the World Wildlife Fund (U.S.) was formed in Washington, D.C., on December 1, 1961, Russell Train became its first ever Vice-President; in later years he was named Chair Emeritus of the WWF. He was President of The Conservation Foundation from 1965 to 1969. In this role, Train helps to bring the environment to the American public’s consciousness and lobbies for a high-level policy group at the highest levels of government.
In 1966, Train became a member of the National Water Commission, charged by Congress with reviewing national water policies.
In 1968, Train was selected to serve as Chairman, Task Force on Environment for U.S. President-elect Richard M. Nixon. His selection, and the creation of the task force, signals the growing acceptance by the incoming administration of the “environment” as a public policy concept.
Russell Train served as Under Secretary of the Department of the Interior from 1969 to 1970. Between 1970 and 1973 he was Chairman of the newly formed Council on Environmental Quality
Council on Environmental Quality
The Council on Environmental Quality is a division of the Executive Office of the President that coordinates federal environmental efforts in the United States and works closely with agencies and other White House offices in the development of environmental and energy policies and initiatives...
(CEQ).
EPA Administrator
During his time as Administrator of the Environmental Protection AgencyAdministrator of the Environmental Protection Agency
The Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency is the head of the United States federal government's Environmental Protection Agency, and is thus responsible for enforcing the nation's Clean Air and Clean Water Acts, as well as numerous other environmental statutes. The Administrator is...
, Train led during the approval of the catalytic converter
Catalytic converter
A catalytic converter is a device used to convert toxic exhaust emissions from an internal combustion engine into non-toxic substances. Inside a catalytic converter, a catalyst stimulates a chemical reaction in which noxious byproducts of combustion are converted to less toxic substances by dint...
to achieve Clean Air Act
Clean Air Act
A Clean Air Act is one of a number of pieces of legislation relating to the reduction of airborne contaminants, smog and air pollution in general. The use by governments to enforce clean air standards has contributed to an improvement in human health and longer life spans...
automobile emission reductions; and the implementation of the Toxic Substances Control Act
Toxic Substances Control Act
The Toxic Substances Control Act is a United States law, passed by the United States Congress in 1976, that regulates the introduction of new or already existing chemicals. It grandfathered most existing chemicals, in contrast to the Registration, Evaluation and Authorization of Chemicals ...
(TSCA) and the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES).
As head of the EPA under Presidents Nixon and Ford, Train is generally credited with helping to place the issue of the environment on the presidential and national agenda in the late 1960s and early 1970s, a key period in the environmental movement.
Return to World Wildlife Fund
After leaving EPA he served as President of the World Wildlife Fund-U.S. from 1978 to 1985 and as its Chairman from 1985 to 1994. 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. It also developed innovative financial mechanisms, including the concept of using Third World debt reduction to protect the global environment. Through these debt-for-nature swaps, WWF started to convert portions of national debts into funding for conservation, beginning in the mid-eighties.Through Train’s efforts, in 1983 the WWF-administered J. Paul Getty Wildlife Conservation Prize was presented to awardees in the White House Rose Garden
White House Rose Garden
The White House Rose Garden is a garden bordering the Oval Office and the West Wing of the White House. The garden is approximately 125 feet long and 60 feet wide...
by President Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
. President Reagan called the Getty Prize “the Nobel Prize for Conservation.” Begun in 1974, the Getty Prize originally honored outstanding contributions to wildlife conservation and now focuses on the education of future conservationists.
In 1985, Train became Chairman of the Board of Directors of World Wildlife Fund and The Conservation Foundation and served as Chairman until 1994. In this same year, the Conservation Foundation formally affiliated with WWF. Though the organizations shared the same Board of Directors as well as some staff, they remained separate legal entities until their merger in 1990.
During 1988 he also worked as Co-Chairman of Conservationists for Bush, making reference to George H. W. Bush
George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States . He had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence.Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to...
, and from 1990 to 1992 as Chairman of the National Commission on the Environment.
In September 1994, Train was elected WWF Chairman Emeritus. That same year, WWF launched the Russell E. Train Education for Nature (EFN) Program to help build capacity for conservation in Africa, Asia, and Latin America by supporting academic and mid-career training. To date, EFN has awarded over 1,200 scholarships and training grants totaling 11.3 million since its establishment.
Train was named Chairman of WWF’s National Council from 1994 to 2001.
In 2003, Politics, Pollution and Panda: An Environmental Memoir by Russell E. Train was published. A chronicle of his career, the book is also a history of the birth and growth of U.S. national interest in environmental issues.
Awards and honors
In 1981 Train was awarded the Public Welfare MedalPublic Welfare Medal
The Public Welfare Medal is awarded by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences "in recognition of distinguished contributions in the application of science to the public welfare." It is the most prestigious honor conferred by the Academy...
from the National Academy of Sciences
United States National Academy of Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences is a corporation in the United States whose members serve pro bono as "advisers to the nation on science, engineering, and medicine." As a national academy, new members of the organization are elected annually by current members, based on their distinguished and...
.
In 1991, Train received the Presidential Medal of Freedom
Presidential Medal of Freedom
The Presidential Medal of Freedom is an award bestowed by the President of the United States and is—along with thecomparable Congressional Gold Medal bestowed by an act of U.S. Congress—the highest civilian award in the United States...
in recognition of his work in conservation.
In 2001, Train received the 7th Annual Heinz Award
Heinz Award
The Heinz Award is an award currently given annually to ten honorees by the Heinz Family Foundation. The Heinz Awards recognize outstanding individuals for their contributions in the five areas of: Arts and Humanities, the Environment, the Human Condition, Public Policy, and Technology, the Economy...
Chairman's Medal, 2001, a prestigious prize honoring individuals who have made extraordinary achievements on issues of importance. Train was recognized as “a tireless advocate for the cause of the environment since 1961… the architect of an environmental agenda without parallel in history in its scope…and as a “truly outstanding example of how a single life can make a difference in the world.”