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2009 marks the 20th Anniversary of the National Wetlands Awards program. Since 1989, the program has honored 143 champions of wetlands conservation; helped draw local and national media attention to their causes; and played an important role in securing funding for and convincing policy makers to consider seriously the issues they have championed. Please consider nominating someone for the 20th Anniversary National Wetlands Awards.

The 2009 nomination form and nomination guidelines are now available.

The 2008 National Wetlands Awards winners accept their awards. View more photos from the ceremony.

 

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1996 National Wetlands Award Recipients

 

Outstanding Program Development

Jackie Sartoris and Donald Witherill have worked diligently to increase protection of Maine’s wetlands. In mid-1994, the Maine State Planning Office hired Sartoris to prepare a Wetland Conservation Plan for Maine. A task force of state and federal agencies and environmental and development interests was formed to assist in this effort. Before this, the state legislature commissioned the Department of Environmental Protection to study possibilities for streamlining the state’s wetlands regulatory program. The regulatory work group, headed by Witherill, was a subgroup of the larger task force, which began a 13-month process to study various methods to accomplish streamlining.

Sartoris and Witherill shepherded this work group through months of meetings analyzing numerous alternatives. These deliberations often were complicated by the competing interests of environmental and development groups, and included continuous debate with the state legislature. Witherill and Sartoris’s tenacity resulted in issuance of a comprehensive Programmatic General Permit by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and changes that vastly improved the state’s wetlands program. Witherill has been involved in wetlands permitting in Maine for 17 years, and was one of the architects of the original wetland permit program. He is the Director of the Watershed Management Division, which covers wetland policy and program development. In her capacity at Maine’s State Planning Office, Sartoris has been directing the efforts of the task force and various work groups. The projected date for the completion of the wetland conservation plan is late 1996.

— Christine Godfrey, New England Division, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Outstanding Program Development

As Chief Biologist of the Natural Resources Planning and Management Division for the Southeast Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission, Donald M. Reed has been a major force in environmental planning for wetlands protection in the seven counties of southeast Wisconsin. With Reed’s work in the mid-1970s, wetland sites essential to water quality maintenance were designated as primary environmental corridors and were given additional protection. He worked with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to complete the nation’s first Advanced Identification (ADID) project in 1983 for the Chiwaukee Prairie, prairie wetlands along Lake Michigan. A second ADID was completed in 1985 for all seven counties.

Reed has demonstrated that effective environmental management does not consist merely of planning, but with real world implementation. He is responsible for SEWRPCs Natural Resources Inventory and has contributed to advancing the art of regional wetlands delineation. He shares his enthusiasm for wetlands in training for numerous state and federal colleagues in wetlands plant identification, and he firmly encourages projects that avoid or reduce impacts to wetlands. Both developers and conservationists respect his straightforward opinions, and he has served as a consultant to government agencies and the private sector. Reed’s project-specific tenacity has preserved significant areas of rapidly growing suburban Milwaukee. Since 1987, Reed has served on the Board of Trustees of the Wisconsin Chapter of The Nature Conservancy.

— Catherine G. Garra, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 5

Outstanding Program Development

Hillrie Quin, Jr., and Jerry McCollum have spearheaded a wetlands and river preservation movement in Georgia through their joint work on the statewide River Care 2000 program, the Alcovy River Greenway, and the Ebenezer Creek/Savannah River Greenway projects. McCollum is President of the Georgia Wildlife Federation, the largest conservation organization in the state. He also heads the River Care 2000 task force for the governor, a statewide initiative to protect Georgia’s 70,000 miles of rivers and associated wetlands, and he chairs the Governor’s Council on Environmental Education in Georgia. In 1993, McCollum began a campaign to save the Alcovy River, east of Atlanta, which runs through ancient tupelo gum swamps. Recognizing the immediate threat of industrial and residential development and wastewater treatment plant discharges to the river, McCollum organized volunteers, industry, and river landowners to develop a greenway along the Alcovy. Through McCollum’s outreach efforts and Quin’s acquisition expertise, conservation easements were, obtained, and more than 200 acres of pristine swamps and river corridor were acquired.

In 1994, Quin, the Georgia Greenways Coordinator for The Conservation Fund, rallied volunteers and landowners living along Ebenezer Creek in eastern Georgia to protect the waterway. The creek, which winds through 1,000-year-old cypress and tupelo stands, became the target of a landowner lawsuit when a municipal discharger was accused of degrading the creek’s water quality. Quin organized local landowners into a nonprofit entity and recruited state and local officials and other state conservation organizations to participate in the greenway initiative. Through Quin’s efforts, the lawsuit was avoided and the municipality has voluntarily begun to improve its discharges. In a state facing increasing wetland development, Quin and McCollum have generated tremendous support for conservation through volunteer recruitment, program initiatives, and passage of state conservation legislation.

— Sara Nicholas, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation

Volunteer Leadership

Since the late-1960s, Aurora Gareiss and Virginia Michels Dent have led a series of battles to save the expansive salt marsh and freshwater wetland complexes surrounding their beloved Littleneck Bay in Queens, New York City. Their efforts led to the acquisition of a series of wetland preserves, including the 135-acre Udalls Cove Park Preserve, now protected by the New York City and State park, systems. Gareiss and Dent’s work did not end with the designation of these preserves; they have maintained a vigilant watch to ensure that illegal dumping, pollution, and other insults to the wetlands have been promptly remedied. As part of their tireless preservation efforts, Gareiss served as Commissioner and Dent as Executive Director of the New York State Northeast Queens Nature and Historical Preserve Commission. Gareiss co-founded the Udals Cove Preservation Committee, and most recently, Dent played an active role in the formation of the New York City Soil and Water Conservation Board. In the 1970s, Gareiss lobbied the state legislature in a campaign that led to enactment of New York’s Tidal Wetlands Act.

Both Gareiss and Dent have spent many hours promoting better public understanding of the connections between environmental heath and the health of local communities. To this end, Gareiss wrote and illustrated lively brochures on the estuarine food chain and other ecological topics. The success of Gareiss and Dent’s preservation work is due in large part to their exceptional abilities to articulate effectively the importance of wetlands to agency officials, legislators, and the public at large.

-Carolyn Summers, New York Department of Environmental Protection, and Philip Weinberg St. John’s University School of Law

Volunteer Leadership

Martin Weeks has proven himself to be a tireless protector of his region’s wetlands. The prairie pothole region in eastern South Dakota, despite years of drainage, still includes more than 1.5 million acres of wetlands. The area is drained by a number of small but richly diverse prairie river watersheds. Two of these watersheds — the Vermillion and the James — have been the object of most of Weeks’ work as a volunteer lawyer and advocate for wetlands protection.

A World War II veteran, Weeks resides on the farm that his grandfather homesteaded. A born environmentalist, he has shown his dedication to wetlands protection and environmental causes within his community, gladly accepting the consequences. In the 1960s, the Vermillion River was scheduled for channelization, which would have drained a vast amount of acreage across the state. With his neighbors, Weeks led a battle to successfully protect the river from channelization. When farmers in the Dakotas later feared the destructive potential of the Bureau of Reclamation’s Oahe Irrigation Project, Weeks was the one lawyer in the state willing to represent them. The project was designed to channelize the James River and would have destroyed a large area of the pothole region. Weeks, joined by the United Family Farmers, fought this "Great Dakota Water War" for years, volunteering the majority of his time. Through Weeks’ determination and dedication, the project was successfully halted.

— John H. Davidson, South Dakota University School of Law Land Stewardship and Development

Land Stewardship and Development

Don and Debbi Koeberlein have demonstrated their outstanding dedication to the protection of wetlands through several wetland restoration projects they have completed on their property and by encouraging other farmers to participate in similar activities. The Koeberleins have restored about 20 acres of wetland habitat on their 500-acre farm; have planted trees on 11 acres of Conservation Reserve Program land; and maintain 110 acres of wetlands pasture as wildlife habitat. These wetland restoration projects provide valuable water quality services. They minimize the amount of nitrate entering the water supply and decrease runoff from their farm, as well as from their neighbors’ property.

The Koeberleins have invested additional money to construct a diversity of wetland types on their property so that University of Illinois scientists can compare the relative effectiveness of wetlands in removing pollutants from farmland runoff. University researchers have found that wetlands are able to remove two-thirds of the nitrate and half of the phosphorus that otherwise would enter streams and groundwater. In addition, the Koeberleins’ project serves as a showcase for other Illinois farmers.

As a drainage contractor, Don encourages customers to consider installing wetlands along water sources, and the Koeberleins have helped convince landowners in the area to create five seasonal wetlands. Don has spoken about the role of wetlands at meetings for farmers, landowners, and the state land improvement contractors association, and the Koeberleins host tours for interested groups. They also operate a hunting preserve on their farm, demonstrating that there are other sources of income from fragile land besides crop production.

— Darrell Smith, Farm Journal

Land Stewardship and Development

For the past 15 years, Bunker Sands has directed the restoration of more than 1,600 acres of wetlands on Rosewood Ranches, a working cattle ranch. In 1980, Sands began making decisions based on a holistic approach that takes into account the impacts on land and people, as well as economics. Sands developed a slogan for his business that reflects his novel approach to management: “Rosewood Ranches - Wetlands and Brahman Cattle.”

The wetlands, located in almost every pasture of Rosewood Ranches, provide many beneficial values: habitat to migratory birds; short-term, high-quality grazing for livestock; and emergency fodder during periods of drought. They also supply an annual crawfish harvest. The wetlands include shallow-water seasonal emergent wetlands, shrub swamps, and flooded bottomland hardwood forests. Cattle are concentrated on one or more pastures for a short period of time and rotated strategically. Water is circulated throughout various cells on the property to ensure that there is a diversity of flooded, mudflat, and dry zones during the period of low moisture. From mid-September through the end of May, most cells are inundated with water, and wheat and clover are planted adjacent to the wetland cells for cattle and other wildlife.

The wetlands are a source of pride for the family and ranch employees and regularly are visited by wildlife viewers. Two graduate students are monitoring the wetlands as part of research projects for their post-graduate degrees. Sands and Rosewood Ranches have proven that wildlife and agriculture are not only compatible, but may be an essential union.

— Mike McCollum, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Education and Outreach

During her 30-year teaching career, Sue Ellen Lyons has educated thousands of Louisiana students and citizens about the importance of wetlands and has involved them in countless conservation projects. In addition to her position as Science Department Chair at Holy Cross High School, she is Coordinator of the student environmental organization, Project FUR (Fight Urban Runoff). Project FUR, which was established in 1990, focuses on increasing public awareness and activism related to urban runoff and wetlands protection in coastal Louisiana; wetland restoration projects; and education of schools in the Greater New Orleans area about urban runoff and Louisiana’s wetland issues.

Through workshops, Lyons has taught hundreds of teachers how to educate their students about wetland functions and values. At the Turtle Cove Environmental Research Station, she co-teaches four weekend-long teacher workshops per year that include trips into the swamps and marshes around Lakes Maurepas and Pontchartrain. Lyons also has co-authored a series of wetland teaching guides that use innovative educational strategies to enhance students’ creative and critical thinking skills.

Lyons is a member of numerous committees, commissions, and task forces. She is a co-founder of the Louisiana Environmental Education Interagency Committee, and she helped draft, and lobbied to pass, environmental education legislation for the state school system. She has been recognized with many awards and honors, including the Louisiana Governor’s Award and the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science Teaching.

—Anne Rheams, Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation

Science Research

Dr. William J. Mitsch is a Professor of Natural Resources and Environmental Science at The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. He completed his Ph.D. under the ecologist H.T Odum, and has become a leading expert on biogeochemical cycles in wetlands and computer simulation models of wetland ecosystems. Mitsch has been a pioneer in ecological engineering and a tireless advocate for wetland preservation, creation, and restoration.

Mitsch co-authored Wetlands, the most widely used textbook and reference on wetlands in the United States. He has written or edited seven other books and has published more than 150 scholarly research articles. Not only has he broken new ground in wetland theory, but Mitsch has continued to use his knowledge in practical problem-solving projects. He was one of the designers and researchers on the Des Plains River Reconstruction project, and he currently manages his own constructed wetland research site, the Olentangy River Wetland Research Park, located at The Ohio State University.

In 1992, Mitsch organized and chaired the IV International INTECOL Wetlands Conference in Columbus, the largest wetland conference ever held. He serves as President of the Society of Wetland Scientists and is founder and Editor-In-Chief of the journal Ecological Engineering. In the past three years, Mitsch has given approximately 60 invited scholarly presentations and keynote speeches across the globe. He is a frequent advisor to state and federal governments on wetlands and has often served as a consultant on both natural and created wetland projects. Mitsch has presented testimony to the U.S. Congress on Clean Water Act wetland issues and served on the National Academy of Sciences’ wetland characterization panel.

— Brian Reeder, Ph.D., Morehead State University

Science Research

Dr. Klaus Richter is a Senior Ecologist in King County, Washington’s Natural Resources Division, specializing in wetland issues. He received his Ph.D. in Forest Zoology from the University of Washington in Seattle and since has taught graduate and undergraduate classes in wildlife biology and ecology, mentored graduate students of wetland ecology throughout the United States, and has been a popular guest lecturer at educational institutions and scientific conferences.

Richter is honored in particular for his research on amphibian ecology and reproduction, particularly in urbanizing areas. Since 1988, he has been Research Program Manager for the Puget Sound Wetlands and Stormwater Management Research Program. During this time, he has combined field survey results with experimental field research on multiple pairs of control and impacted wetlands to assess water quality and hydrologic, wildlife, and vegetation effects of stormwater management and urbanization. The research has been used to develop a model to account for declines in amphibian breeding success in urbanizing landscapes. Results of this work are being applied to reduce amphibian losses through improved stormwater management and by implementing site-specific wetland restoration throughout the Puget Sound and the United States.

Richter’s research has led to an outstanding advancement in wetlands science and improved wetland management, protection, and regulation. In addition, he has led numerous training workshops on amphibian monitoring of wetlands and wetland management.

— Fred Weinmann, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; Region 10

 

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