As Herbert College of Agriculture graduates walked across the stage this past May, they joined a UT alumni family of more than 268,000 strong.

Herbert has advanced many of these successful college graduates for years—one of which is Michael Butler, who graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Wildlife and Fisheries Science in 1992. Today, Butler is the CEO of the Tennessee Wildlife Federation (TWF) and the recent recipient of the 2023 Distinguished Alumni Award from the Herbert College of Agriculture.

Originally from Jackson, Tennessee, Butler began his academic career at the University of Tennessee pursuing a degree in engineering before switching to architecture. During his senior year, he felt the need to get back to his roots.

“I grew up in the outdoors,” said Butler, and with some prompting from a friend, decided to transfer to the wildlife and fisheries science program in the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources (now the Herbert College of Agriculture).

After making the switch, he gained several valuable experiences in his program. Billy Minser, a former professor, urged Butler to pursue an internship with the Wildlife Society in Washington DC. He also applied for a fellowship with the Delta Waterfowl Research Station in Manitoba, Canada, and left Knoxville the week before graduation.

The trajectory of his career interests changed with the Wildlife Society internship in Washington DC. “That was six months working on the hill—working with professionals in the policy setting that really shaped my thinking around a lot of things.”

For graduate school, Butler studied waterfowl through Montana State University in Bozeman. After he received his degree, he moved back home to Tennessee and accepted an entry level outreach coordinator position in the Tennessee Wildlife Federation. There, he worked with sportsman’s groups around Tennessee and served as technical advisor to the executive director on wildlife biology in 1996.

Around this time, he started engaging with the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture (UTIA) through the Department of Forestry, Wildlife and Fisheries and joined the advisory board at UT Martin for their wildlife program.

In May of 2002, Butler accepted the role of interim executive director and eventually moved in as the full-time executive director at TWF. One of his largest projects has been helping with the acquisition of Lone Oaks farm in Middleton, Tennessee, which houses 1,200 acres of both agricultural land and forests open to the public.

“A big part of what [TWF] does is working in advocacy and public policy around conservation. We work in outreach and education to adults and children about the outdoors, and we also do habitat restoration,” said Butler. “. . . We helped get the $15 million appropriation that went toward the acquisition of the Lone Oaks Farm for UT.”

Butler believes that UTIA has a great advantage in assisting people across the state with environmental pressures and conservation. He enjoys working with UTIA through strengthening project specific areas, taking opportunities to expand impact, and partnering with UTIA to work on big ideas that solve big problems.

Butler’s advice to students is to learn how to communicate effectively and expand your knowledge of how partner industries work, like the agricultural industry.

“The big dichotomy in this state is not between wildlife and agriculture or wildlife and forestry. The big dichotomy is between urban mentalities and rural mentalities. That’s where the big mindset shift is. If you think about populations that live pretty much every day, all day, within a concrete landscape, you need to understand how they are relating to or are they relating to the natural resource base.”

Alumni like Butler continue to expand the reach of the University of Tennessee across not only the state, but around the world. He believes his education at UT sufficiently prepared him for a successful career in wildlife and fisheries science.

Butler has seen many changes within UTIA and Herbert College of Agriculture since 1992 but couldn’t be more excited about the future with new leadership in tow. “I think with UT System President Randy Boyd and Dr. Carver, and the senior leadership at UTIA, we can make a big impact. I think that there is an enormous opportunity for growth.”

Passionate leaders, supportive alumni—there’s no limit to what UTIA and the Herbert College of Agriculture can accomplish.