Paying Tribute to Environmental Heroes
Teamwork. That’s how wilderness is saved. But teams need leaders, and The Wilderness Society believes in honoring those citizens who have gone above and beyond in their efforts to protect America’s wildlands and wildlife. Over the past year, we have presented the following awards.
Named for one of our founders, the Robert Marshall Award is The Wilderness Society’s highest honor given to a private citizen. In September 2006 it was earned by Terry Tempest Williams, a Utahn who has received numerous honors, including the Wallace Stegner Award, for her natural history writing. The award is inscribed: “[Y]our words…are universal anthems to wild places. You dare, and dare much, to love wilderness passionately and aloud. With gentleness and quiet insistence, you summon us to our shared human duty to protect it, for its own sake and for ours….”
U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell, a Democrat from the state of Washington, received the Ansel Adams Award, which goes to an elected or appointed official who has made enduring contributions to the stewardship of America’s natural treasures. “Senator Cantwell has emerged as a skillful and determined defender of the nation’s natural treasures,” said Wilderness Society President William H. Meadows. “She provided exceptional leadership for the efforts to protect the Arctic Refuge and national forest roadless areas.”
Tom Toles of The Washington Post was named the ninth recipient of our Aldo Leopold Award for Distinguished Editorial Writing. He is the first editorial cartoonist to receive this honor. “The power of a Tom Toles cartoon, seen in papers across the country, is hard to overestimate,” remarked Meadows. “He has a strong interest in environmental protection and has been a forceful voice in debates over national forests, oil drilling, wildlife, and other high-profile concerns.”
We recognized five Minnesotans as Environmental Heroes for years of work to protect special places in their state. Martin Kellogg of St. Paul was honored for his extensive efforts to establish and protect Voyageurs National Park, while Janet Green of Duluth was recognized for decades of helping safeguard the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. Bill Hansen of Tofte and Paul Schurke and Steve Piragis, both of Ely, are owners of successful local outfitting businesses and were saluted for their leadership roles in Northeastern Minnesotans for Wilderness.
A special award went to Greg Lais of Minneapolis, who, with Schurke, a noted Arctic explorer, co-founded Wilderness Inquiry, a ground-breaking non-profit adventure agency for persons with disabilities. Also honored was Barbara West, who served ten years as superintendent of Voyageurs National Park “She handled the many challenges with fairness and a keen sense of stewardship,” said Becky Rom, who recently completed four years as chair of our Governing Council.
Wesley Leonard of El Paso was named an Environmental Hero for his three decades of commitment to protecting wilderness in the Southwest. A co-founder of the New Mexico Wilderness Alliance, he now chairs its board. Three New Mexicans received a new Wilderness Society honor: the Voices for the Land Award, recognizing individuals who courageously speak out for public land protection. The first recipients were Ernie Atencio of Taos, executive director of the Taos Land Trust; Peter Pino, the administrator and treasurer for the Pueblo of Zia; and Las Cruces Mayor Pro-Tem Dolores Connor, who has spoken forcefully for the permanent protection of wilderness in Doña Ana County.
We also saluted three men who have been critical to the conservation community’s success in keeping oil rigs out of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge’s coastal plain. Peter Van Tuyn is an Alaskan lawyer we can always turn to for an analysis of the latest piece of legislation—seemingly before the ink on the bill is dry. John McComb is known as the technological guru for the Arctic campaign because of his computer skills and creative approach to advocacy. Richard Fineberg is the "numbers guy," whose analyses have refuted many a myth promoted by the government and its drilling allies. Richard's research into the projected yield of oil from the Arctic Refuge and the interplay of these projections with energy prices changed the debate.
Five natural resources graduate students at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point (UWSP) were awarded Gaylord Nelson Earth Day Fellowships in 2006. Cortney Schaefer of Grand Island, Nebraska; Jennifer Dillard of Mission Viejo, California; Brian Barch of Baraboo, Wisconsin; Rainey Kreis of San Pedro, California; and Jessica Huxmann of Stevens Point were recognized for making significant contributions to promoting conservation ethics and environmental education and for exhibiting future leadership potential in the field of environmental education. We initiated the annual recognition in 1990 to mark the 20th anniversary of Earth Day and to honor its founder, former U.S. Senator from Wisconsin Gaylord Nelson, long-time counselor of The Wilderness Society, who died in 2005.
