NWF News: Conservation Awards and Resolutions for the Year Ahead

Updates from NWF & affiliates: At its 2024 Annual Meeting, NWF awarded leaders and set policy resolutions

By Delaney McPherson
Conservation
Sep 26, 2024

Clockwise from top left: Dana Ripper (photo courtesy of Dana Ripper), Tara Losoff (photo courtesy of Tara Losoff), Conservation Federation of Missouri team (photo by Conservation Federation of Missouri), Marty Floyd (photo courtesy of Martin D. Floyd)

Conservation Champions Recognized

On June 27, the National Wildlife Federation honored the following recipients of its 2024 National Conservation Achievement Awards at NWF’s 88th Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C.

Charlie Shaw Conservation Partnership Award, Affiliate: Dana Ripper (above, top left), executive director of the Missouri River Bird Observatory and Conservation Federation of Missouri board member, works with landowners and legislators to protect habitats and monitor bird populations.

Charlie Shaw Conservation Partnership Award, Staff: As the associate vice president of organizing and campaigns for NWF, Tara Losoff (above, top right) advocates for policies that protect wildlife and bolster communities.

Affiliate of the Year: Conservation Federation of Missouri (above, bottom left) has been a champion of wildlife, natural resources and outdoor heritage since 1935. Read more about the group’s work below.

Young Leader Award: Zahra Saifee is the policy and advocacy coordinator for Environmental League of Massachusetts, an NWF affiliate. Read more about Saifee.

Conservation Leadership Award: President and founder of Louisiana’s Cajun Fishing Adventures, Ryan Lambert is an outspoken advocate for and educator on coastal restoration.

Kent Salazar Director of Conservation Partnership Award: The NWF director of conservation partnerships for the South Central region, Ron Warnken helped build the successful Southeast Forestry Program and is a champion of endangered longleaf pine ecosystems.

Volunteer of the Year Award: Martin D. “Marty” Floyd (above, bottom right) has been involved in conservation for more than 60 years. Former president of the Louisiana Wildlife Federation, an NWF affiliate, he is an active community scientist, the founder of two master naturalist programs and the illustrator of two coloring books written in Indigenous languages.

An image of a female tiger shark.

Guiding Federation Policy

Each year, NWF and its affiliates draft and approve a series of resolutions that guide policy decisions for the Federation. At the 88th Annual Meeting held in Washington, D.C., in June, NWF affiliates voted to approve the following four conservation resolutions:

Conserving and restoring mature and old-growth forests (such as Tongass National Forest, below). These forests are integral habitat for countless wildlife species and play an important role in carbon sequestration and climate change mitigation. The resolution also supports the U.S. Forest Service’s National Old-Growth Amendment to expand and protect forests on federal lands.

An image of the interior of a temperate rainforest.

Reaffirming NWF’s commitment to Free, Prior and Informed Consent, building upon a 2023 resolution to form authentic partnerships with Tribes and Indigenous communities.

Committing to protecting shark species through science-based population management and advocating for federal protection. Sharks (such as the tiger shark, top, in Hawai‘i) play a vital role in marine ecosystems by controlling the populations of prey species. Yet a 2021 study showed that 77 percent of shark and ray species are listed as endangered or vulnerable globally due to threats including habitat loss, pollution, climate change and overfishing, making their conservation particularly urgent.

Supporting the elimination of the Department of Justice’s McKittrick policy, which requires the government to prove a person knowingly killed an endangered species in order to prosecute the individual. Revoking the policy would increase the likelihood of fines or jail time for killing an animal listed under the Endangered Species Act and would deter potential rule breakers from harming species such as whooping cranes, gray wolves and grizzly bears.

Donor Spotlight: David Fiedler of Bensalem, Pennsylvania

WHY I GIVE “I live on a property that has woods behind it, so I like to watch animals and do photography. A diverse population of birds come to my feeders, and that creates photo opportunities, which I enjoy.”

Interested in learning more about the impact you can have on wildlife? Please visit nwf.org/donate.

An image of conservation corps river cleanup.

Award-Winning Conservation Advocacy

At NWF’s 88th Annual Meeting, the Conservation Federation of Missouri (CFM) was recognized as the Affiliate of the Year for its outstanding record of advocating for the outdoors, both in the statehouse and in neighborhoods and natural spaces.

“We are constantly in the capitol, raising awareness, making the legislature aware of conservation, issuing action alerts and testifying,” says Tyler Schwartze, CFM’s executive director. “In each of the four recent legislative sessions, we passed a bill to further the conservation of natural resource efforts.”

Those bills increased fines for poaching, specified that landowners won’t be held responsible for damages caused by prescribed burns, designated archery as the state sport and expanded a program in which hunters can donate shelf-stable venison to help feed hungry neighbors. CFM was also heavily involved in passing and protecting both of the dedicated sales taxes benefiting conservation in Missouri—the only state to have two.

With close to 5,000 members and an affiliate network of 100 organizations, CFM reaches nearly 80,000 Missourians through in-person and digital activities. For the past few years, CFM has held a photo contest, giving participants the chance to showcase their pictures of Missouri wildlife (above), landscapes and outdoor recreation. CFM’s largest program, Share the Harvest, donates around 5,000 deer carcasses each year to local food banks, allowing hunters to support their communities.

Another flagship initiative, Conservation Leadership Corps (CLC), helps 50 high school and college students each year meet conservation professionals, network, participate in drafting CFM resolutions and carry out hands-on conservation work (top). Many CLC students—including CFM’s previous president—go on to pursue careers in conservation. CLC’s success led CFM to start a program for young professionals, providing career-development support for members ages 21 to 40.

“Our slogan is ‘the voice for Missouri outdoors,’” says Schwartze. “These people get to become the change and the voice.”

An image of a blacktail deer.

National Wildlife Photo Contest

The winners of the 2024 National Wildlife® Photo Contest will be showcased in our Winter 2025 issue. To learn how to enter your photos in our 2025 contest and be featured in the magazine, visit nwf.org/photocontest.