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Within the heart of America’s national wildlife refuges lies a commitment to nature and conservation that is essential for the well-being of our communities. We are proud to announce the recipients of the 2023 Wildlife Refuge Awards, recognizing the exceptional contributions made to the National Wildlife Refuge System.
It's that time of year again! Every year, the National Wildlife Refuge Association honors the exceptional contributions made by the dedicated individuals who support our national wildlife refuges. We are proud to announce the 2023 Wildlife Refuge Awards, recognizing the outstanding achievements of refuge managers, employees, volunteers, Friends groups, and advocates.
Rod Colvin has volunteered at Lassen National Park and Death Valley National Park since retiring in 2016, but his current and longest volunteer stop “got my heart.”
Colvin was named this year’s volunteer of the year by the National Wildlife Refuge Association for his work at Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge in Amargosa Valley.
We hope you will join us for our 2022 Wildlife Refuge Awards hosted in Washington D.C. and live-streamed on September 14th, 2022 starting at 7 pm ET. Check out a preview of the evening by watching the video!
Some of the most outstanding advocates of the National Wildlife Refuge System’s protected public lands will be honored for their contributions on September 14 in Washington, DC. The 2022 Wildlife Refuge Awards dinner will take place at 7 p.m. at the Mayflower Hotel. Media is welcome to attend and cover the program and the ceremony will be livestreamed for all to attend across the country.
We are excited to announce that our 2022 Wildlife Refuge Awards ceremony is going virtual! The in-person event held on Wednesday, September 14th, 2022 at 7 pm ET will be live-streamed free.
Since 1994, the National Wildlife Refuge Association has presented the Wildlife Refuge Awards to honor the outstanding contributions of Refuge employees, friends, and volunteers. This year, we will celebrate the exceptional accomplishments of awardees in five categories: the Paul Kroegel Refuge Manager of the Year, the Refuge Employee of the Year, the Refuge Volunteer of the Year, the Molly Krival Refuge Friends Group of the Year, and the Refuge Advocate.
In Alaska, there may be no bigger voice than David Raskin when it comes to ensuring thriving wildlife populations and protection for the places they call home. For David’s passion and years of service in his role as co-founder, Friends of Alaska National Wildlife Refuges, a group that supports all 16 of Alaska’s national wildlife refuges, he has recently been named the National Wildlife Refuge Association’s 2022 Refuge Advocate Awardee.
In November 2019, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service established just the second National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) fully located in Kentucky. Despite historic opposition to a greater federal presence in the state, the Green River NWR became the Nation’s 568th unit of the National Wildlife Refuge System as a direct result of the exceptional vision and communication of Michael Johnson.
