Jim Schramm, b. 1944, is a founding board member of the Anglers of the Au Sable, the president of the Great Lakes Council of the Federation of Fly Fishers, and the coordinator and legal counsel for the Michigan Hydro Relicensing Coalition.
Jim has been an attorney for over 20 years, practicing in Lansing, Hastings, and now in Pentwater, Michigan. He has degrees from The Thomas Cooley Law School (J.D.), the University of Wisconsin (M.A.), and Michigan State University (B.A.).
Prior to his career as an attorney, Jim, upon graduation from MSU, entered the Army as a 2nd Lieutenant and served with distinction for over twenty years, retiring in 1984 as a Lieutenant Colonel. His service included tours of duty in Vietnam, Korea, and Germany, and in many stateside posts. During his service, Jim received numerous citations including the Bronze Star for Valor while serving in Vietnam. He was also a graduate of the Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.
Jim’s service to the environment, trout, and rivers includes being a member of many committees and boards. He has been a member of the Governor’s Camp Grayling Advisory Committee and the DNR’s Blue Ribbon Trout Stream Committee. He is presently a member of the DNR’s Lake Michigan Advisory Committee and the DNR’s Fishing Regulations Review Committee, and is a current director of the Federation of Fly Fishers, the Pere Marquette Watershed Council, the West Michigan Hacklers, and the Anglers of the Au Sable. He is also the legal counsel for the Federation of Fly Fishers.
Jim was instrumental in forming the Hydro Coalition which includes the Anglers, Michigan United Conservation Clubs, Michigan Council of TU, and the Great Lakes Council of FFF. This Coalition has been highly successful and precedent-setting in the hydro relicensing process in the state of Michigan.
He has received many awards in recognition of his service and achievements in conservation and environmental work from FFF, TU, Anglers, DNR, and the US Forest Service. For his sustained efforts with the FERC project, Jim was the recipient (along with four others including fellow Anglers directors Tom Baird and Terry Lyons) of the 1994 Riverkeeper of the Year Award. Jim was also awarded the 1996 Riverkeeper of the Year for his continued and successful work in hydropower reform in Michigan, as well as his dedicated legal service to the Anglers and the FFF. (See Ed McGlinn’s Riverwatch On-Line article regarding this award.) Jim was also the 1991 Federation of Fly Fishers’ Man of the Year.
