Sand County Foundation, the California Farm Bureau Federation and Sustainable Conservation are accepting applications for the $10,000 California Leopold Conservation Award.
“We encourage others to apply for this opportunity to tell their stories of the entwined relationship between working landscapes and conservation,” said Dina Moore, owner of Lone Star Ranch, the 2016 recipient.
The award honors California farmers, ranchers, foresters and other private landowners who demonstrate outstanding stewardship and management of natural resources as well as conservation leadership. It reflects Aldo Leopold’s land ethic as expressed in A Sand County Almanac.
The application is available at: leopoldconservationaward.org. Nominations must be postmarked by July 14, 2017, and mailed to California Leopold Conservation Award c/o Sustainable Conservation, 98 Battery Street, Suite 302, San Francisco, CA 94111.
“Judges are looking for a ‘story’ that clearly showcases conservation, innovation and leadership on the farm or ranch,” said Karen Sweet of Sand County Foundation. “Project descriptions and activities should list any partners, note goals and measurable results, and call out what might be unusual and adaptable by others. Strategically use reference letters and other materials to ‘brag’ and to supplement the nomination text.”
The 2017 California Leopold Conservation Award will be presented in December at the California Farm Bureau Federation’s Annual Meeting in Garden Grove, CA.
The award is possible thanks to generous contributions from many organizations, including Sustainable Conservation, California Farm Bureau Federation, Farm Credit West, American AgCredit, The Harvey L. & Maud S. Sorensen Foundation, Environmental Defense Fund and The Nature Conservancy.
ABOUT THE LEOPOLD CONSERVATION AWARD
The Leopold Conservation Award is a competitive award that recognizes landowner achievement in voluntary conservation. The award consists of a crystal award depicting Aldo Leopold and $10,000.
ABOUT SAND COUNTY FOUNDATION
Sand County Foundation is a non-profit conservation organization dedicated to working with private landowners to advance the use of ethical and scientifically sound land management practices that benefit people and the environment. sandcountyfoundation.org
ABOUT CALIFORNIA FARM BUREAU FEDERATION
The California Farm Bureau Federation works to protect family farms and ranches on behalf of more than 48,000 members statewide and as part of a nationwide network of more than 6.2 million Farm Bureau members. cfbf.com
ABOUT SUSTAINABLE CONSERVATION
Sustainable Conservation helps California thrive by uniting people to solve the toughest challenges facing our land, air and water. Since 1993, it has brought together business, landowners and government to steward the resources that we all depend on in ways that make economic sense. Sustainable Conservation believes common ground is California’s most important resource. suscon.org