ROCKINGHAM — City Manager Monty Crump starts a new part-time job after being appointed by Gov. Roy Cooper to the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission.
Although he will be sworn in at the Commission’s first meeting, he had a small ceremony Friday afternoon with the oath being administered by Superior Court Judge Tanya Wallace.
Of the 19-member Commission, 11 are appointed by the governor, four by the speaker of the House and four by the president pro tem of the state Senate, Crump said. The state is divided into nine districts statewide. The governor appoints all the district seats, which are six-year staggered terms and those terms are staggered, as well as two at-large four-year appointments. The house and senate appointees are all two-year terms.
Crump was appointed as District 6 Commissioner — which is comprised of Mecklenburg, Union, Anson, Cabarrus, Rowan, Davidson, Montgomery, Moore, Stanly and Richmond counties — for a six-year term, running from July 1, 2017 to April 23, 2023.
Of the 19-member Commission, 11 are appointed by the governor, four by the speaker of the House and four by the president pro tem of the state Senate.
Former Commissioner John Lentz was also from Richmond County.
As a commissioner, Crump said his role is to “help govern the Wildlife Commission, whose purpose is to manage, restore, develop, cultivate, conserve, protect and regulate the wildlife resources of the (state)…and to administer the laws relating” to various wildlife “enacted by the General Assembly to the end that there may be provided a sound, constructive, comprehensive, continuing, and economical game, game fish, and wildlife program for the (state)…it’s citizens and the resource.”
Crump and his wife, Kathy, manage land the own in Mangum — where he grew up — for timber and agriculture production, “along with aggressive wildlife land management.”
“I am a lifetime North Carolina sportsman, outdoorsman and conservationist,” he told the Daily Journal in an email Monday. His office in Rockingham City Hall is adorned with several taxidermied animals. “I have always been a strong advocate for the preservation and enhancement of both our wildlife and natural resources.”
As city manager, Crump has been instrumental — working with city employees and the council — in the Hitchcock Creek Watershed Management Plan, Hitchcock Creek Blue Trail and Greenway, Hinson Lake, Diggs Tract boat launch/camping, and removal of Steele’s Mill dam to “restore traditional fish passages.”
He has also been vocal for many years regarding water flows in the Pee Dee River for “year-round safe use and accessiblity for the public” — with the city being involved in a 20-year legal battle over flows he called “obscene.”
“Unfortunately, the Pee Dee River low water flow issue has not be satisfactory addressed as of this date,” he said Monday.
Last year, Rockingham was honored as Municipal Conservationist of the Year by the N.C. Wildlife Federation as part of the Governor’s Conservation Achievement Awards. program.
I believe my experience will be an asset that I can bring to the table as I am involved with decision making on issues that come before the Commission,” Crump said.
Serving on the Commission is not a full-time job and Crump said he will continue to fulfill is duties as city manager. City Planner John Massey was recently named assistant city manager.
“I greatly appreciate the support that I have received from the mayor and city council to serve on the Commission,” he said. “I am very grateful to Gov. Cooper for his faith and confidence in appointing me to the Wildlife Commission. It is an honor to serve his administration and our great state of North Carolina. I also want to sincerely thank all those who supported my appointment as it was being considered by (the governor).”
Reach William R. Toler at 910-817-2675.