What’s New:

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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1997 National Wetlands Award Recipients

 

Outstanding Program Development

Laura Lenzen is a self-taught professional who began her career with the Nebraska Department of Roads (NDOR) as a typist and worked her way up to wetlands engineer. She developed NDOR’s Wetlands Unit, one of the premier programs in the country, and she also developed Nebraska’s first mitigation banking agreement. She managed the planning and construction of more than 400 acres of wetlands at more than 20 sites across the state in the early 1990s, to mitigate for wetlands that were destroyed or disturbed by road projects. Many states and private entities have used her work as an example in drafting their own guidelines, including Nebraska’s first private mitigation banking instrument, which was recently completed.

Early on, Lenzen turned to the federal and state resource agencies for information and assistance. She learned that by working with these agencies, all interested parties (and the resources they represent) could benefit. Roads could be constructed while wetland resources were protected. Lenzen also began wetland training sessions for NDOR employees and county engineers, allowing them not only to understand wetland regulations but appreciate the wetlands’ functions and values. Lenzen’s work has vastly increased the environmental commitment of the state roads department; as a result, she and her department have an excellent reputation in the wetlands arena.

— Mark A. Brohman, Nebraska Game and Parks Commission

Outstanding Program Development

Cheryl Miller is the Minnesota Wetlands Director for the National Audubon Society. In this capacity, she participates in public policy debates about wetlands, directs a multifaceted public education program, and monitors how wetland protection laws are being implemented in Minnesota. A special focus area has been developing field programs that get members of the public out into wetlands to collect information that is useful to local wetland decision makers. The program will provide information about habitat, water quality, and vegetation in natural and restored wetlands.

For the past seven years, under Miller’s leadership, the Audubon Society has led the effort to pass and then defend strong statewide wetlands regulation. The effort has included developing legislation, organizing grassroots support, staffing the Minnesota Wetlands Conservation Coalition, and participating in the rulemaking process. Miller also edits a series of booklets on Minnesota wetlands policy and ecology that is widely used by government and private groups. She helped design and implement Audubon’s national wetlands campaign, and she also serves on the board of the Land Stewardship Project and the Great Lakes Aquatic Habitat Fund.

— Amy Middleton, Minnesota Citizens for a Better Environment

Volunteer Leadership

As an active environmental advocate for the rivers and wetlands of West Tennessee, Larry J. Smith and his outgoing personality and unflagging energy have sparked the interest of children, bolstered the efforts of other local activists, and heightened public awareness of the environmental issues faced by the region. He has been referred to by local newspapers as a “one-man environmental army” for the many successful campaigns that he has led against wetlands destruction, river pollution, and other threats to the region’s natural resources. When praised for such activities, Smith is quick to give credit to the widespread community support that assists and motivates his efforts.

A hallmark of Smith’s volunteer activism is his ability to build strong coalitions of diverse groups, often working hand-in-hand with government agencies and grassroots leaders to identify and address common goals. Smith, who worked as Toxics Coordinator at the Mid-South Peace and Justice Center from 1992-97, has served as a volunteer board member of Memphis’ Wolf River Conservancy for the past 10 years, working tirelessly to promote and implement the public acquisition and protection of land along West Tennessee’s threatened Wolf River. In March of 1997, the Wolf River Conservancy rewarded Smith’s years of service by hiring him as the group’s first Executive Director. According to Smith, the opportunity is “a dream come true.”

— Naomi Van Tol and Eileen Segal, Wolf River Conservancy

Science Research

— Teresa Opheim, Environmental Law Institute

Land Stewardship and Development

Brien O’Connor Dunn is the owner and operator of the Fennessey Ranch in Refugio County, Texas. The Fennessey Ranch has been in his family for 163 years and was part of a 750,000-acre land empire that originated with a Mexican land grant in 1834. Dunn has dedicated 950 acres to restored, created, or enhanced wetlands, with an additional 500 acres to be committed to one of the first private mitigation banks in South Texas. Dunn’s efforts have been assisted by the Partners for Wildlife program and the Prairie Wetlands Project, which is cosponsored by the Natural Resources Conservation Service, the Fish and Wildlife Service, Ducks Unlimited, and Texas Parks and Wildlife. He is a cooperator with the Copano Bay Soil and Water Conservation District, and he participates in the Native Prairie Grassland Restoration Project through the De-Go-La Resource Conservation and Development Area.

Dunn believes that the private landowner must get involved to save habitat for wildlife in Texas and a rural way of life for future Texans. He has worked tirelessly with Texas ranchers as well as taught ranchers around the country how to implement innovative strategies to create environmentally healthy and profitable businesses. He has received the Outstanding Wildlife Conservation Award and is listed in National and State Watchable Wildlife Programs. The Fennessey Ranch is a site on the Great Texas Birding Trail.

— Rindle Wilson, De-Go-La Resource Conservation and Development Area

Land Stewardship and Development

James P. Siepmann is a land developer who specializes in developing open space communities that allow for new homes yet preserve the rural character of each site through protection of environmentally sensitive areas. One of his showcase projects is The Preserve at Hunter’s Lake, which was developed in 1994. The Preserve consists of 267 acres of land with three-quarters of a mile of frontage along the east side of a small, spring-fed lake in Ottawa, Wisconsin. Siepmann, who works with his father, brother, and sister in the business, could have divided the lake frontage into separate lots, but instead chose to make it a part of The Preserve’s open space for all the residents to enjoy. The lots are clustered in groups of two to four in areas backed by woods. About 180 acres of land are open, including all of the lake frontage. The roads were built with curbs instead of shoulders to protect as much of the land as possible, and native vegetation was planted. A small boardwalk to the lake gives property owners their only direct access, and use is restricted to canoe and paddle boats. As part of the project’s mitigation arrangement, Siepmann agreed to restore a degraded sedge meadow on the bank of the stream.

The Preserve at Hunter’s Lake is held up as a model by county and regional planners. Siepmann has shown that development and environmental protection can go hand in hand.

— Susan Asmus, National Association of Home Builders

Education and Outreach

Wilfred Cwikiel has devoted his work to making a positive impact on people’s perceptions, willingness, and ability to protect wetlands. He has written several publications and dozens of articles, and produced five wetland training videos. In addition, he is the editor of Great Lakes Wetlands and the Citizen’s Wetland Report & Habitat News, and he has made presentations at national conferences and conducted numerous wetland workshops.

One of Cwikiel’s hallmarks is his interest in improving the effectiveness of others working to protect wetlands. This is most evident in the Great Lakes Aquatic Habitat Network and Fund, which Cwikiel initiated and developed in 1996 with financial support from the C.S. Mott Foundation. This program establishes communication networks for citizens and provides grants to grassroots wetland protection initiatives. By fostering this base of support at the grassroots level, Cwikiel’s work serves to support wetland protection at all levels.

Cwikiel has served on several state-appointed committees to review environmental permitting programs, provide recommendations on wetland mitigation banking policy, and develop Michigan’s Wetland Strategy. In these contexts, he has been a thoughtful and articulate participant who has gained the respect of the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, his fellow wetland advocates, consultants, and business representatives. His efforts have enabled, enhanced, and inspired greater wetlands protection efforts throughout the Great Lakes region.

— Steve Sadewasser, Michigan Department of Environmental Quality

 

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