WASHINGTON, DC (April 6, 2021)—
The National Wildlife Refuge Association is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2021 Refuge Awards, presented by the National Wildlife Refuge Association. This year’s award recipients are:
Paul Kroegel Refuge Manager of the Year: Steve Berendzen, Arctic NWR (AK)
Refuge Employee of the Year: Natalie Fath, National Elk Refuge (WY)
Molly Krival Refuge Friends Group of the Year: Friends of St Marks Wildlife Refuge (FL)
Refuge Volunteer of the Year: Mary Weiler and Kevin Weiler, Merritt Island NWR (FL)
Refuge Advocate of the Year: Jose Witt, Shaaron Netherton, Friends of Nevada Wilderness (NV)
The National Wildlife Refuge System and the 2021 Refuge Awards winners will be celebrated at a reception and dinner on November 16th, 2021 at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, DC. The event will also be streamed live on Zoom, Facebook, and YouTube allowing everyone to celebrate the accomplishments of the awardees.
The 2021 Refuge Awards program will be MC’d by Wayne Hubbard. Mr. Hubbard is the host and producer of the award-winning program: Urban American Outdoors, which is the first multicultural outdoors TV show in the country, which has been on air weekly since 2003.
Since 1994, the National Wildlife Refuge Association has honored the outstanding accomplishments by refuge managers, refuge employees, volunteers, Friends groups, and refuge advocates through our Refuge System Awards program. The National Wildlife Refuge System depends on the dedication of individuals and groups like this year’s award winners to manage, protect, promote, and enhance the world’s largest network of lands and waters set aside for wildlife conservation.
For more information about the 2021 Refuge Awards or for more information about the National Wildlife Refuge Association, please visit https://www.refugeassociation.org/awards.
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About the National Wildlife Refuge Association: As the leading independent voice advocating on behalf of the National Wildlife Refuge System, we protect, promote, and enhance America’s wildlife heritage through strategic programs that serve the System and wildlife beyond its boundaries.
For more information, visit www.refugeassociation.org or contact Courtney Lewis, National Wildlife Refuge Association, 202-577-3200.