TWS Awards Chairman Grijalva its Prestigious Ansel Adams Award for Public Lands Stewardship

At a ceremony and dinner in Washington, D.C, today, The Wilderness Society will present its highest honor to an elected official to Arizona Congressman Raúl Grijalva. Known as the Ansel Adams Award, the prize recognizes tireless dedication to protecting America’s wild places and meeting the challenges of a rapidly changing planet.

“Throughout his four decades of public service, Chairman Grijalva has demonstrated a profound dedication to advocating for protecting open spaces, environmental justice and taking bold climate action,” said The Wilderness Society President Jamie Williams. “Chairman Grijalva’s extraordinary leadership in Congress as Chair of the House Committee on Natural Resources has delivered tangible and historic conservation achievements, while always championing underrepresented voices in our nation. He brings vision, passion, and a deep commitment to protecting our public lands for their cultural and spiritual values.”

Chairman Grijalva leads the House Committee on Natural Resources, which oversees the stewardship of federal public lands as well as the country’s federal conservation and species protection programs. He is a principal architect of the bipartisan Dingell Conservation, Management and Recreation Act, which permanently protected more than two million acres of lands and waters, including nearly 1.3 million acres of wilderness, and permanently reauthorized the Land and Water Conservation Fund. He has been a stalwart champion of Native American and Indigenous rights, introducing legislation that strengthens tribal engagement and involvement in public lands decision-making, and he as fought to update our woefully outdated mining and drilling laws to ensure justice for the communities impacted by harmful and destructive resource extraction on federal lands. 

“We are judged on what we choose to pass on. And today, we have an opportunity to reaffirm our commitment to preserve these lands for the future and future generations,” said Chairman Grijalva. “Now during a time of national disillusionment, it is perhaps more important than ever that we work together to find common ground so our children and grandchildren can cherish our greatest national treasures.”

Past recipients of the Ansel Adams Award include Al Gore (1997), John Lewis (2001), Maria Cantwell (2006) and Bruce Babbitt (2011).

For more information, contact Tony Iallonardo at newsmedia@tws.org.