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Conservation Leaders Honored
Land conservationists from across the state
gathered in Madison on September 20, 2007, to honor some of those
whose dedication to the preservation of Wisconsin’s natural
places has been especially outstanding in 2007.
Gathering Waters Conservancy’s Annual Land Conservation
Leadership awards recognize individuals and organizations whose
achievements are making a notable impact on the future of Wisconsin’s
natural resources. “Everyone who plants a tree, volunteers
at a nature preserve, or makes a donation is part of Wisconsin’s
conservation movement,” said Mike Strigel, Executive Director
of Gathering Waters Conservancy. “These awards are
an opportunity to honor individuals whose exceptional work is supported
and valued by many thousands of conservationists throughout the
state.”
The Winners
Land Trust of the Year
In just six short years, the Northwoods Land Trust has
established an impressive track record of conservation in an area
of Wisconsin where development pressure has never been higher. Executive
Director Bryan Pierce and the Northwoods Land Trust’s dedicated
board of directors offer a wealth of innovative tools and information
to northern Wisconsin landowners who are equally dedicated to preserving
the natural character of Wisconsin’s northern lakes and forests. Their
efforts have resulted in an incredible collection of more than
2,000 acres preserved by a grand total of 23 conservation easements,
including over eight miles of lake and river shoreline. “The
Northwoods Land Trust is an outstanding small land trust using
the full panoply of land conservation tools with great success,” said
Peter McKeever, attorney and NWLT member. “It is a
model that inspires other land trusts to achieve excellence.”
Policy Maker of the Year
As the state Secretary of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection, Rod
Nilsestuen has led the charge to preserve Wisconsin’s
working agricultural and forest lands. Rod convened the Working
Lands Initiative Steering Committee, a diverse group of leaders
with a shared interest in keeping Wisconsin’s working lands
in production. Out of these committee meetings came a proposal
for a statewide Purchase of Development Rights grant program, which
if instated would be an invaluable tool for communities, farmers,
and land trusts in protecting farmland. “Rod has been
a visionary leader of the Department of Agriculture and a champion
of the idea that protecting Wisconsin’s working lands is
vital to the state’s future,” said Jim Welsh, Executive
Director of the Natural Heritage Land Trust. “The land
trust community of Wisconsin is behind him in taking action to
protect Wisconsin’s working lands.”
Conservationist Lifetime Achievement Award
We will present our 2007 Conservationist Lifetime Achievement Award
to David
Ladd, for his dedication to environmental sustainability
in business as well as decades of untiring land stewardship in
his native Iowa County and across the state. As CEO of Walnut
Hollow, Inc. David has instilled his business with an ethic of
environmental stewardship, committing to no-waste “lean
manufacturing” practices in woodcraft production. He
has served on countless conservation boards, including a term on
the Wisconsin Natural Resources Board and 20 years on the board
of the Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin. David has
long been actively involved in local conservation projects in and
around the Dodgeville area, and he and his family have planted
hundreds of thousands of trees on family property. His combined
work on all these fronts has left a lasting and visible impact
on the Wisconsin landscape. “Mr. Ladd has permeated
his community with a notable environmental ethic,” said Charlie
Luthin, Executive Director of the Natural Resources Foundation. “His
legacy will be long regarded and remembered.”
This year’s Land Conservation Leadership
Awards Celebration was held at the Monona Terrace on September
20 from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. The celebration was open to the
public by RSVP and $25 donation, and included a silent auction
for the benefit of conservation efforts around the state. For
more information about the event, please contact Gathering Waters
Conservancy at (608) 251-9131 or by visiting www.gatheringwaters.org.
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