Don Kennard (May 6, 1929 – March 17, 2011) was a United States politician for the Democratic Party representing

Fort Worth Fort Worth is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, covering nearly into Denton County, Texas, Denton, Johnson County, Texas, Johnson, Parker County, Texas, Parker, and Wise County, Te ...

and

Tarrant County Tarrant County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas with a 2020 U.S. census population of 2,110,640, making it the third-most populous county in Texas and the 15th-most populous in the United States. Its county seat is Fort Worth. T ...

in both the

Texas House of Representatives The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Texas Legislature. It consists of 150 members who are elected from single-member districts for two-year terms. There are no Term limits in the United States, term limits. The ...

and the

Texas Senate The Texas Senate is the upper house of the Texas Legislature, with the Texas House of Representatives functioning as the lower house. Together, they form the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the state of Texas. The Senate ...

from 1953 to 1973. Kennard represented the former District 60–3 in the Texas House from

53rd 53 may refer to: * 53 (number) * one of the years 53 BC, AD 53, 1953, 2053 * FiftyThree, an American privately held technology company that specializes in tools for mobile creation and visual thinking * 53rd Regiment Alabama Cavalry * 53rd Regiment ...

through the 62nd Legislatures, and the Tenth District in the 58th through the 62nd Legislatures. Kennard was an early proponent of a wide variety of conservation-related initiatives in the Legislature. He is particularly celebrated for his success in securing dedicated funding for the

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department The Texas Parks & Wildlife Department (TPWD) is a Texas state agency that oversees and protects wildlife and their habitat (ecology), habitats. In addition, the agency is responsible for managing the state park, state's parks and historical ar ...

from cigarette taxes. Kennard was indirectly responsible for the

Fort Worth Zoo The Fort Worth Zoo is a zoo in Fort Worth, Texas, United States, and is home to 7,000 native and exotic animals. It has been named as a top zoo in the nation by '' Family Life'' magazine, the ''Los Angeles Times'' and ''USA Today'', as well as on ...

obtaining a baby elephant in 1964. Following his service in the Legislature, Kennard taught and led research efforts at the

Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs The Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs (or LBJ School of Public Affairs) is a graduate school at the University of Texas at Austin that was founded in 1970. The school offers training in public policy analysis and administration in govern ...

at the

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 students as of fall 2 ...

. He is especially noted for coordinating the Natural Area Survey, which provided the blueprint for many years of later public land acquisitions of Texas areas of special ecological, scenic, or historic value.

References

External links

Texas Legacy Project
* Politicians from Fort Worth, Texas Democratic Party Texas state senators Democratic Party members of the Texas House of Representatives 1929 births 2011 deaths 20th-century members of the Texas Legislature {{Texas-politician-stub