Zern was a member of many conservation groups, including the Theodore Gordon Flyfishers (he was a past president), the Atlantic Salmon Federation, and the Boone and Crockett Club, an organization started by Theodore Roosevelt and others for the preservation of big game animals [REF].
Zern was deeply involved in environmental issues and conservation, but excused his less-than-strident advocacy of these causes in print, saying, "I have problems being serious."