Washington, D.C. May 28, 2021 –
The National Wildlife Refuge Association announced that Shaaron Netherton, Jose Witt and the Friends of Nevada Wilderness are the 2021 National Wildlife Refuge System Advocates of the Year. Netherton is executive director of Friends of Nevada Wilderness and Jose Witt, now, executive director of the Southern Nevada Conservancy and previously the Southern Nevada Director at the Friends of Nevada Wilderness will be honored at a reception and dinner on November 16th, 2021 at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, DC. The event will be streamed live on Zoom, Facebook, and YouTube to celebrate their accomplishments as well as awardees in other categories.
They are being honored for their efforts to develop support for protecting the Desert National Wildlife Refuge (DNWR) in Nevada. Mr. Witt and Ms. Netherton worked tirelessly to engage and inspire a diversity of people and organizations to support the Refuge, which generated 32,000 public comments that were submitted to the Air Force, opposing the expansion of the Nevada Test and Training Range (NTTR), which encompasses over 2.9 million acres of federal land that has been withdrawn from public use and reserved for military use by the U.S. Air Force.
Their abilities and effectiveness in working with political officials were instrumental in enabling the passing of a joint resolution by the Nevada State Assembly and Senate, developing bipartisan support from the Nevada Congressional Delegation, and the support from Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak, all supporting the protection of the DNWR and opposing NTTR expansion.
They launched a social media campaign using a powerful and effective message: Don’t Bomb the Bighorn, Save the Desert National Wildlife Refuge. Using various social media platforms, including hashtags, Twitter, Facebook, and websites, they were able to quickly mobilize support for the DNWR. They also had movies produced about the DNWR and the proposed expansion, which were posted on YouTube and easily shared throughout the conservation community and with a diversity of organizations.
Their efforts during the last five years represent an incredible achievement that prevented the loss of over 1.1 million acres of land from the DNWR for the American people and the hundreds of wildlife species that depend on the Refuge for their survival, especially desert bighorn sheep.
“It was a team effort,” stated Netherton, “working together we became a loud voice.” Witt added, “It was a good fight for a good cause; it was a local and national effort. It increased my faith in democracy that individuals can affect change.”
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As the leading independent voice advocating on behalf of the National Wildlife Refuge System, the mission of the National Wildlife Refuge Association is to 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.