Wetlands Awards. Six conservationists honored in ceremony

• Pages: 55-55

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2011 ❧ Page 55

Copyright © 2011, Environmental Law Institute®, Washington, D.C. www.eli.org.

Reprinted by permission from The Environmental Forum®, Sept./Oct. 2011

ELI Report

ELI honored six con-

servationists from across

the country for their ex-

ceptional and innovative

contributions to wetlands

conservation. e 2011

National Wetlands Award

recipients were honored at

a ceremony on May 4 at

the U.S. Botanic Garden.

e winners have re-

stored, researched, and

protected thousands of

acres of wetlands nation-

wide. eir examples have

inspired many members of

their community to act and

make a dif‌ference to pro-

tect and improve these vital

natural resources.

“ELI is the leading

think-tank on some of the

cutting edge issues of wet-

lands protection, including

compensatory mitigation,

banking, and issues like

that,” stated then ELI Presi-

dent Leslie Carothers. “We

have only one bias in this

program and that is in fa-

vor of programs that work

on the ground to arrest the

lost of these extremely valu-

able resources and are prac-

tical to restore them. What

we are honoring tonight are

people who just do it, they

work on wetlands issues in

the states and in the regions

and in the f‌ield, in the

laboratory, and they’re the

ones whose ef‌forts make

the success of the program

possible.”

Keynote speaker Bob

Perciasepe, Deputy Ad-

ministrator of the U.S.

Environmental Protection

Agency, said: “It’s my hon-

or to do what I was actually

asked to do when I came

here today, to present the

National Wetlands Award.

One of the more enjoyable

things that you get to do as

a deputy administrator is to

really celebrate the achieve-

ments of people.”

is year’s award recipi-

ents and their accomplish-

ments appear below by

category.

Conservation and Restora-

tion: Rio de la Vista’s en-

thusiasm and creativity has

brought together numerous

partners and private land-

owners to protect more than

27,000 acres of wetlands

in Colorado. She wrote a

groundbreaking grant that

tied the purchase of conser-

vation easements to senior

surface water rights to the

land — an important initia-

tive to help secure the long-

term protection of wetlands

along the Rio Grande.

Education and Outreach:

Margaret Sedlecky, a 25-year

veteran teacher of the Bald-

win County Public Schools

in Alabama, has conducted

a hands-on environmental

education program for more

than 3,000 students, and

leads the Baldwin County

Grasses in Classes program

— guiding student volun-

teers in planting 40,000 na-

tive plants and restoring 15

acres of coastal habitats.

Landowner Stewardship:

Scott House has created and

expanded more than 1,200

acres of wetland habitat on

his land, Bearitage Farms,

in Arkansas. Investing his

own time and money, he

has reshaped the landscape

by encouraging numerous

neighbors to donate thou-

sands of acres of wetlands to

strengthen this important

habitat for migratory birds

in the Mississippi Flyway.

North Carolinians, restored

40,000 acres of estuaries,

and has been involved in

every major coastal policy

issue since its beginning.

e National Wet-

lands Awards program is

administered by the Envi-

ronmental Law Institute

and supported by the U.S.

Environmental Protection

Agency, NOAA Fisheries,

the U.S. Fish and Wildlife

Service, the Natural Re-

sources Conservation Ser-

vice, the Federal Highway

Administration, and the

USDA Forest Service.

“e recipients of the

2011 National Wetlands

Awards demonstrate a pas-

sion and level of personal

commitment to conserva-

tion that is both inspira-

tional and daunting,” said

Dave White, Chief of the

Natural Resources Con-

servation Service. “ey

also represent the wide

range of people involved

in wetlands conservation,

from scientists and educa-

tors to landowners and

community leaders, who

are changing the course of

our nation’s future for the

better.”

Wetlands Awards Six conservationists honored in ceremony

EPA’s Bob Perciasepe (left) and winners of the 2011 National Wet-

lands Awards pose with their plaques in the Botanic Gardens.

Science Research: Loren

Smith is regarded by his

peers as the top authority on

playa wetlands and one of

the world’s leading scholars

on wetland ecosystem sci-

ence. Head of the Zoology

Department at Oklahoma

State University, his research

has been instrumental in

shaping and expanding our

understanding of the role

that playa wetlands play in

providing habitat for mil-

lions of migratory birds

across Great Plains states.

State, Tribal, and Local

Program Development: Ja-

net Morlan, state wetlands

program manager for the

Oregon Department of

State Lands, is a driving

force behind many policy

improvements and advances

that make Oregon’s wetland

program a national model

for wetland conservation

and protection.

Wetland Commu-

nity Leader: Todd Miller

founded the North Carolina

Coastal Federation in 1982.

ree decades later, the or-

ganization has undertaken

multi-million dollar conser-

vation ef‌forts and partner-

ships, educated thousands of