California Leopold Conservation Award® Seeks Nominees

Sand County Foundation, the California Farm Bureau Federation and Sustainable Conservation are accepting applications for the $10,000 California Leopold Conservation Award. The award honors California farmers, ranchers, foresters and other private landowners who demonstrate outstanding stewardship and management of natural resources.

“Receiving the Leopold Conservation Award is an honor and a legacy that we value today and hope inspires our next generation,” said Dina Moore, owner of Lone Star Ranch – the 2016 recipient. “We encourage others to apply for this opportunity to tell their stories of the entwined relationship between working landscapes and conservation.”

Given in honor of renowned conservationist Aldo Leopold, the Leopold Conservation Award inspires other landowners by example and provides a visible forum where farmers, ranchers and other private landowners are recognized as conservation leaders. In his influential 1949 book, A Sand County Almanac, 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.”

“Good intentions and luck take no farmer down the road to profitability and improved land health,” said Sand County Foundation CEO Brent Haglund. “Leopold Conservation Award recipients epitomize the creativity, drive and heartfelt conservation commitment it takes.”

“From population growth and development pressures, to demands on the state’s limited water supplies, to loss of habitat and wildlife, California’s environment continues to face big challenges,” said Ashley Boren, Executive Director of award co-sponsor Sustainable Conservation. “More than half of California is in private ownership, and how these landowners and their families manage their properties has a lasting effect on the state’s health. Award co-sponsors urge these often-overlooked but vital environmental allies to step forward and be recognized for their tremendous contributions to a vibrant California.”

“The Leopold Conservation Award was established in the name of Aldo Leopold, who understood the critical nature of working landscapes,” said California Farm Bureau Federation President Paul Wenger. “This award recognizes farmers and ranchers who have developed creative and replicable ideas, relative to the stewardship of the natural resources on their land. As the most productive agricultural state in the nation, with some of the most dazzling ecosystems and landscapes, California farmers and ranchers have shown their ability to protect the environment, while producing a cornucopia of food and farm products that not only creates sustainable economic stimulus, but helps feed the rest of our nation and world.”

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. 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 California Leopold Conservation Award is possible thanks to generous contributions from many organizations, including Farm Credit West, American AgCredit, The Harvey L. & Maud S. Sorenson Foundation, Environmental Defense Fund and The Nature Conservancy.

For application information, please visit leopoldconservationaward.org.

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. Sand County Foundation presents Leopold Conservation Awards in California, Colorado, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

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

For application information, please visit leopoldconservationaward.org.