Elrod's comics typically present information
promoting public awareness of imperiled species
Mark Trail Copyright 1998 North American Syndicate,
Inc.
Reissued online by special permission of King Features Syndicate
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For the past 40 years, Jack Elrod has been associated with
the syndicated Mark Trail comic feature. For the past 18 years, he
has both written and illustrated the daily and Sunday strips.
Elrod's Mark Trail comic strip has won over 30 conservation
awards from government agencies and private organizations like
the National Wildlife Federation, the U.S. Coast Guard, the National
Forest Association, the Georgia Wildlife Association, the American
Waterfowl and Wetland Association, and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife
Service.
| For the Fish & Wildlife Service,
Elrod has illustrated and written several coloring books
which have been distributed to students throughout the nation
They include: Wetlands Coloring Book; Take
Pride in America with Mark Trail: A Coloring Book;
and Mark Trail Tells the Story of a Fish in Trouble
(Illustrated). |
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In 1991 and 1992, Elrod served as a judge in the Federal
Duck Stamp Contest.
For the National Wildlife Federation, Elrod illustrated
the 1980 poster which stresses the importance of preserving the
nation's wetlands. A total of 16, 500 acres in the Chattahoochee
National Forest were reserved by Congress in 1991 as a Mark Trail
Wilderness Area. It is the only wilderness area in the nation
to be named after a character in a comic strip. A resolution is
now (May 1998) pending in Congress to recognize Elrod for his
ongoing work in keeping Americans in touch with nature. U.S. representative
John Linder from Georgia is sponsoring the bill.
Current Honors and Awards:
1998: The National Weather Service and
the National Atmospheric and Oceanic Administration honor Elrod
in Washington, D.C. for his many years of public service. He also
receives an award from the National Marine Fisheries Service.
1996: National Weather Service's Public
Service Award.
1994: Golden Bear Award from the Department of Agriculture;
Conservation Communicator of the Year Award from the Georgia Wildlife
Federation; and a Proclamation signed by the Governor of Georgia.
1989: A national Take Pride in America
Award presented at the White House, and a Conservation Award from
the Department of Agriculture and the Department of the Interior.
1987: Georgia Take Pride in America Award.
Elrod was born in Gainesville, Georgia. He is married,
with four children and 11 grandchildren.
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