Do you know a California farmer, rancher or forester who goes above and beyond to steward the natural resources under their care? Nominate them for the 2020 California Leopold Conservation Award®!
The Award
Given in honor of renowned conservationist Aldo Leopold, the award recognizes landowners who inspire others with their exemplary dedication to land, water and wildlife habitat management on private, working lands. In his influential 1949 book, “A Sand County Almanac,” Leopold called for an ethical relationship between people and the land they own and manage.
Sand County Foundation, the California Farm Bureau Federation and Sustainable Conservation have been presenting the award in California since 2006, and Sand County Foundation presents the award nationwide in 20 states. The California Leopold Conservation Award will be presented at the California Farm Bureau Federation’s Annual Meeting in December. The recipient will receive $10,000 and an Aldo Leopold crystal.
Bruce Rominger of Rominger Brothers Farms, 2019 award recipient.
Bruce Rominger of Rominger Brothers Farms has this to say about the award and his family’s inspiring conservation efforts:
“It’s an honor to even be considered for the Leopold Conservation Award, and an even greater honor to win it, especially considering all the accomplished past winners. We are humbled to be part of that list of distinguished recipients. We love what we’re doing and believe what we’re doing improves our part of California in meaningful ways for the future. To have the Leopold Conservation Award associated with our farm is a tremendous privilege.”
And our Executive Director Ashley Boren looks back at the many amazing recipients in over a decade of Sustainable Conservation co-sponsoring the award:
“From clean and abundant water, to breathable air, to healthy wildlife, keeping California the special place we all love requires everyone doing their part. On the front lines of conservation are many deserving, but often overlooked, landowner heroes stepping up every day to steward our environment and Californians’ quality of life. The Leopold Conservation Award celebrates these inspiring individuals and families, and co-sponsors hope farmers, ranchers and other private landowners come forward this year to be recognized.”
The Details
You can submit your own nomination, or you can nominate someone you know in your community who’s modeling the kind of resource stewardship we all aspire to! Click here for Sand County Foundation’s application form.
Reading your amazing conservation stories is one of the true highlights of our year, and we can’t wait to learn about even more amazing land and resource stewards across California. Applications can be emailed to [email protected]. Paper applications must be postmarked by July 15, 2020, and you can mail your applications to:
Leopold Conservation Award
c/o Sustainable Conservation
98 Battery Street, Suite 302
San Francisco, CA 94111
For more information on the award, visit www.leopoldconservationaward.org. If you have any questions about the process, including specific application questions, please feel free to reach out: [email protected]
The Leopold Conservation Award in California is made possible thanks to the generous support of Sustainable Conservation, California Farm Bureau Federation, Sand County Foundation, The Harvey L. & Maud S. Sorensen Foundation, Farm Credit, The Nature Conservancy in California, McDonald’s and California LCA recipient alumni.