FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Carolyn Brown, 510-813-5521, carolyn@GreenWaveCom.com
LEOPOLD CONSERVATION AWARD SEEKS NOMINEES: CALIFORNIA FARMERS AND
RANCHERS MANAGING THEIR LAND AND RESOURCES SUSTAINABLY
San Francisco, Calif., April 19, 2006 – For the first time, the Leopold Conservation Award will be presented in 2006 to a California landowner who demonstrates responsible stewardship and management of natural resources. Nominations of California farmers and ranchers are sought for the $10,000 prize. The deadline is July 14, 2006. “We’re proud to bring the Leopold Conservation Award to California in partnership with Sustainable Conservation and the California Farm Bureau Federation to honor the voluntary conservation work of private landowners in the Golden State,” said Dr. Brent Haglund, President of Sand County Foundation, the award’s sponsor. “California has extraordinary natural resources, a strong and diverse agricultural sector, and untold opportunities for effective conservation.”
Given in honor of
Aldo Leopold, the Leopold Conservation Award recognizes extraordinary
achievement in voluntary conservation. In his influential book, A Sand County
Almanac (1949), Aldo Leopold called for an ethical relationship between people
and the land they own and manage – which he called “an evolutionary possibility
and an ecological necessity.”
“The land ethic
described by Aldo Leopold is alive and well today in California,” said Ashley
Boren, Executive Director of Sustainable Conservation. “From protecting streams
to restoring habitat, from harvesting trees sustainably to growing crops
responsibly, California private landowners can contribute to a healthy
environment and a healthy economy every day.”
“The Leopold
Conservation Award shines a spotlight on the California farmers, ranchers and
foresters around the state who demonstrate this ethic through responsible
management of the land and natural resources,” said Doug Mosebar, President of
California Farm Bureau. “It’s important to not only recognize their achievements
but also to inspire other landowners to take a more active role in protecting
and restoring the environment.”
The Leopold Conservation Award will be presented annually in California beginning in 2006 by Sand County Foundation, Sustainable Conservation and California Farm Bureau. Nominations will be considered in three categories: Nurseries and Crops; Dairy, Beef and Poultry; and Rangeland and Timber. The California Award will be presented December 4, 2006 at the California Farm Bureau Federation Annual Convention in Anaheim, at the opening plenary session.
The nomination deadline is July 14, 2006. For more information, visit www.leopoldconservationaward.org,
email suscon@suscon.org or call (415) 977-0380.
ABOUT SAND COUNTY FOUNDATION
Sand County
Foundation is a private, non-profit conservation group dedicated to working with
private landowners to improve habitat on their land. Sand County’s mission is to
advance the use of ethical and scientifically sound land management practices
and partnerships for the benefit of people and their rural landscapes. Sand
County Foundation works with private landowners because the majority of the
nation’s fish, wildlife, and natural resources are found on private lands. The
organization backs local champions, invests in civil society and places
incentives before regulation to create solutions that endure and grow. The
organization encourages the exercise of private responsibility in the pursuit of
improved land health as an essential alternative to many of the commonly used
strategies in modern conservation.
ABOUT CALIFORNIA FARM BUREAU
The California Farm Bureau Federation (Farm Bureau) is California's largest farm organization, comprised of 53 county Farm Bureaus representing over 88,000 members throughout California, including farm families and those who support the farming way of life. It is a non-governmental, non-profit, voluntary membership organization whose purpose is to represent, protect and promote agricultural interests throughout the State of California and to find solutions to the problems of the farm, the farm home and the rural community. The California Farm Bureau strives to protect and improve the ability of farmers and ranchers engaged in production agriculture to provide a safe and reliable supply of food, fiber, and flowers through responsible stewardship of their resources.
ABOUT SUSTAINABLE CONSERVATION
Sustainable Conservation partners with business, agriculture and government to find practical ways that the private sector can protect clean air, clean water and healthy ecosystems. The independent nonprofit organization leads powerful collaborations that produce lasting solutions and sustain the vitality of both the economy and the environment. Recent accomplishments include: establishing a statewide methane digester program for California dairy farmers to generate renewable energy; demonstrating “conservation tillage,” which decreases particulate air pollution while reducing farmers’ energy and labor costs; establishing a set of business practices for automobile recyclers to keep toxic materials out of the waterways; and creating a regulatory framework for private landowners to get prompt one-stop approval of sound habitat restoration projects. The organization received the Governor’s Environmental and Economic Leadership Award in 2004. For more information, visit www.suscon.org.
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