Laurence Jahn; Helped Shape Environment Policies

Laurence Jahn, 74, a natural resources conservationist who led the Wildlife Management Institute in Washington, D.C. A wildlife biologist, writer and administrator, Jahn helped shape national environmental policies and legislation to enhance wildlife habitats. Throughout his career, he focused on treating the ecosystem as a whole, championing actions that bridged different approaches to conservation. “His view was that you couldn’t save the ducks without saving the water,” said Jahn’s institute colleague Richard McCabe. Jahn worked for the institute for more than three decades, serving as vice president from 1971 to 1987, and then president and board chairman until his retirement in 1991. During the last decade, Jahn helped form and chaired the United Conservation Alliance, an organization of hunters, anglers, biomedical researchers and conservationists who oppose the animal rights movement. The group has worked to pass anti-harassment legislation to protect hunters on federal lands. Born and reared on a dairy farm in Jefferson, Wis., Jahn served in the Navy during World War II. He died Saturday in suburban Washington of cancer.