Southern Colorado Conservation Awards (2010)
Colorado faces some of the greatest conservation challenges in the nation. And it responds with some of the greatest conservation successes—championed by people for whom protecting important places, leading by example, teaching our children about the natural world, and setting new benchmarks for a sustainable future are a part of their daily lives. On September 29, at the first annual Southern Colorado Conservation Awards, Palmer Land Trust honored the significant achievements of individuals and organizations that, through their conservation efforts, have helped advance the future wellbeing of southern Colorado’s communities, people, ecologies, and economies. Watch the documentary shorts produced by Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Ginger Kathrens that introduce the event and feature the award winners for 2010.
Event Introduction
The 2010 award winners:
The Stuart P. Dodge Award
The Stuart P. Dodge Award honors an individual or organization for a lifetime record of conservation achievement. The award is inspired by Stuart P. Dodge, whose exceptional service to Colorado set a benchmark for conservation leadership throughout the state.
Winner: Judy Sellers
Judy Sellers is a landscape designer and garden writer with a passion for the natural world. She has lived in Colorado for more than thirty years, exploring the backcountry on foot, ski, and bike. Judy served as a pioneering member of Palmer Land Trust's board in the 1970s. She joined the board of The Nature Conservancy's Colorado Chapter in the early 1990s. In 1995, she won The Nature Conservancy's prestigious national award, The Oak Leaf Award, for her pioneering work establishing the Prairie Wings program, a multinational effort to protect bird species and their habitats, spanning portions of Canada, the United States, and Mexico. In 1998, Judy was appointed to the board of Great Outdoors Colorado by Governor Bill Owens. She is an expert on the history of land preservation in the U.S. and contemporary land preservation efforts in Colorado. Judy is the author of Colorado Wild: Preserving the Spirit and Beauty of Our Lands.
The Friends of Open Space Award
The Friends of Open Space Award honors an individual or organization for efforts that led to the protection of a significant property or landscape in southern Colorado.
Winner: Reeves and Betsy Brown and the 3R Ranch
Reeves and Betsy Brown make their home on the historic 3R Ranch in the foothills of the Wet Mountains near Beulah, Colorado. Using innovative ranching techniques, coupled with constant monitoring of rangeland health, the Browns have turned the 3R Ranch into a model for Holistic Range Management. To ensure the future of their property as a ranch, the Browns put a conservation easement on their property with Colorado Open Lands and became advocates of this opportunity for other ranchers. They helped to establish and/or direct the work of several lands trusts across the State. Their own ranch has become an environmental education site for students from Beulah, Rye, and Pueblo who come to learn about ranching, local food production, and conservation.
The Stewardship Award
The Stewardship Award honors an organization or individual who—through grassroots efforts, exceptional land management practices, educational programs, and/or by way of example—has positively impacted the land and the way members of our communities understand and respect their relationship to the land.
Winner: Mountain Park Environmental Center
Now in its second decade, the non-profit Mountain Park Environmental Center’s (MPEC) environmental education programs impact thousands of people each year. MPEC’s flagship program is Earth Studies, which provides all 1,200 5th graders from Pueblo City Schools with 6 full days of outdoor-based education. Additional programs include a full schedule of Summer Camps for kindergarten through high-school, Nature for Toddlers, Guided Hikes, and various workshops and lectures for adult populations. In 2008, MPEC took over full management of Pueblo Mountain Park for the City of Pueblo, allowing MPEC to apply its stewardship ethic to on-the-ground land management of the park’s 611 acres. It began a renovation of the Horseshoe Lodge, transforming a historic community asset into a “green” facility that is now serving the community as a hub for outdoor programs. Green building components, composting toilets, and a biomass heating system compliment the historic renovation.
The Innovation in Conservation Award
The Innovation in Conservation Award honors an individual, group, project, or program that has advanced the cause of conservation by developing new conservation models, creating new conservation funding mechanisms, and/or implementing unique conservation partnerships that protect our natural heritage.
Winner: Cheyenne Mountain Zoo
The Cheyenne Mountain Zoo’s Quarters for Conservation program inspires guests to become environmental stewards as they learn about conservation projects supported by the Zoo. Guests cast their vote for a project with a “quarter” token that is given as part of their admission fee. The Cheyenne Mountain Zoo is one of only three zoos in the nation to bring this innovative program to its guests. Since the introduction of this program in 2008, Quarters for Conservation has raised more than $200,000 as guests vote, one quarter at a time, to support local and global conservation efforts. The program has brought measurable support to numerous conservation efforts, including the zoo's own Black-footed Ferret Species Survival Plan.
