Birder confirmed as U.S. Treasury secretary

This afternoon, the U.S. Senate confirmed Henry M. Paulson Jr. as secretary of the United States Treasury. The chairman of Goldman Sachs also has served as chair of The Nature Conservancy, and his passion for birding garnered news coverage after his May 30 nomination.

He's served on the board of a well-known birding organization:

Paulson, nominated Tuesday by Bush to succeed John Snow at Treasury, took an early interest in nature. He was raised as a Christian Scientist on an Illinois farm, where he still keeps five acres and has let raccoons have the run of the house. Before college he wanted to become a forest or park ranger. Instead he opted for a business career, getting an MBA from Harvard.

He and his wife, Wendy, are both skilled birders. At their house in Illinois, they’ve raised birds, dogs, cats, raccoons, flying squirrels, lizards, snakes, mice, turtles, frogs and a tarantula.

“Environment is my passion,” Paulson told Charlie Rose in a PBS interview in 2004.

At Goldman Sachs, he arranged for a handler with a leather glove to bring in captive-bred birds of prey to show off each year. The handler would come from The Peregrine Fund, another conservation group on which he serves on the board.

Nice to see birding get some mentions in the financial media. Any chance that the presence of a high-profile birder like Paulson could result in more and/or larger donations to more birding and conservation organizations?

Let's work it, people!