Conservation association snags Discovery Channel chief

The National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) has hired Discovery Channel chief Clark Bunting as its next president and CEO.

{mosads}While at the Discovery Channel, Bunting was involved with the network’s environmental advocacy and partnered with then Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) on shark protection legislation.

“[Bunting’s] distinguished career as a businessman, as an innovator and his ability to reach and engage large, diverse audiences make him uniquely qualified to lead NPCA and the national parks movement successfully into their second century,” Tom Secunda, chair of NPCA’s board of trustees, said in a statement.

Bunting has also held leadership roles at the American Humane Society, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and more.

“NPCA has been the key nonpartisan voice of the American people in safeguarding the beauty, wildlife, and cultural resources of the most diverse and spectacular park system in the world,” Bunting said in a statement.

The conservation association received heightened attention during the government shutdown last month as it defended the National Park Service’s actions of barricading national monuments and parks.