Every year the Tennessee Wildlife Federation recognizes outstanding contributions to conservation and natural resources through its Conservation Awards program. These are the 2011 award recipients recognized Tuesday at an annual gathering in Nashville:

2011 Hunters for the Hungry Processor of the Year - B&B Processing
John Barron of B&B Processing in Marshall County has professionally processed more than 500 deer for the Hunters for the Hungry program over the last five years, providing more than 20,000 pounds of high quality meat to those in need in his community.

2011 Hunter Education Instructor of the Year - Jim Stroud
As a volunteer TWRA hunter education instructor, Jim Stroud from Greenbriar. Tenn. has given tirelessly of his time, effort and money to promote safe youth hunting all over the state.

2011 Forest Conservationist - Kevin Hoyt
Kevin Hoyt from Crossville, Tenn. represents the best in professional forestry, demonstrating a passion for conserving Tennessee's forests while managing wildlife habitat for both game and non-game species. He has served on the board of the Tennessee Forestry Association since 2002, and he chaired the organization's sustainable forestry initiative from 2005-2010, leading the committee to national recognition in 2007.

2011 Wildlife Conservationist - Marc Lipner
Mark Lipner from Crossville, Tenn., was a forester with TWRA before becoming the assistant area manager of the Catoosa Wildlife Management Area, then the upland habitat coordinator, and more recently, lands management biologist. Marc spearheaded the initiative to begin managing vast pine plantations acquired by TWRA, thinning them with prescribed burns and logging where appropriate. the result has been some awesome grassland habitat utilized by a great variety of wildlife, including not only deer, turkey and quail, but grassland songbirds, raptors, amphibians, reptiles, rare plants and pollinators such as bees and butterflies. Not only has Marc served our state and its wildlife honorably, but he served our country in the U.S. Army in Kosovo and Afghanistan.

2011 Land Conservationist - Boyle Investments, Inc.
Boyle Investment Company of Memphis, recently donated an important 290-acre forested tract along the Wolf River to the Wolf River Conservancy. The result is more than one mile of conserved river frontage, a remarkable site that contains some incredibly beautiful landscapes including a largely intact, unfragmented forest with stands of old-growth timber, numerous wetlands and cypress-lined old river courses.

2011 Water Conservationist - Michael Cain, Harpeth River Watershed Association
Last May's historic flood left the Harpeth River littered with parts of buildings, barns and sheds, along with the personal belongings of people throughout the flood zone. Many thousands of trees were uprooted, creating severe erosion and landslides and clogging the river. Mike Cain from Franklin, Tenn. found private funding and organized nineteen clean-ups, removing nearly 80 tons of debris with 400 volunteers putting in more than 2,000 hours of time. This Spring, clean-up events have already removed another 15 tons of debris, including blockages in channels that had already created localized flooded areas with the spring rains.

2011 Conservation Legislator - Senator Doug Jackson
Senator Jackson from Dickson, Tenn. is a two-time winner of this award and a great friend to the Tennessee Wildlife Federation. This year's honor is primarily in recognition of his tireless efforts in sponsoring, supporting, defending and ultimately passing the right to hunt and fish constitutional amendment. His passion for education and the shooting sports has made him a strong supporter of TWF's scholastic clay target program, and the Renaissance Center - of which he is Executive Director - is a wonderful partner to the TWRA and TWF, producing the Emmy Award-winning Tennessee's Wild Side television program.

2011 Conservation Organization - Foothills Land Conservancy
Over the past 25 years, the Foothills Land Conservancy has been helping to preserve the unique rural beauty and fragile open spaces around the Great Smoky Mountains National park - more than 25,000 acres of protected land, including 10,000 acres donated for local parks and recreation areas, and five TWRA wildlife management areas.

2011 Conservation Educator of the Year - Patricia Miller
If you're looking for advice or information on anything related to aquatic, outdoor and environmental education, it is widely known among educators that Patricia Miller from Nashville, Tenn. is the go-to person at the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency. Patricia joined TWRA in 1997 as a wildlife biologist and quickly transitioned into the position of aquatic education coordinator. Since then, she has been instrumental in implementing the national fishing in the schools program, coordinating free fishing days, and the recreational boating and fishing foundation's take me fishing events. She has created and led beginning and intermediate fishing programs, as well as stream ecology, as part of the becoming an outdoor woman program, and she has represented TWRA and helped coordinate the agency's support and involvement in the governor's every child outdoors symposium, a statewide initiative that brings together members from every sector of society to increase awareness of and opportunities for children to connect with nature in Tennessee.

2011 Conservationist of the Year - Kathleen Williams
Most know Kathleen Williams from Nashville, Tenn. as the passionate, firebrand executive director of the Tennessee Parks and Greenways Foundation. But in 2010, she became an unstoppable force which moved a seemingly immovable object. In the face of tremendous budget shortfalls, Kathleen went out on a limb to hold then-governor Phil Bredesen accountable for his promise to restore the real estate transfer tax conservation programs, which had been swept into the general fund. When the governor announced that the funds would be included in his budget, it signaled a major achievement, but it was only the beginning of a long list of accomplishments.

2011 Z. Cartter Patton Award - Dr. Fred Alsop, East Tennessee State University
Dr. Fred Alsop III from Johnson City, Tenn. is professor of biological sciences and natural history where he specializes in ornithology. He is a leading advocate for the conservation of birds and bird habitat in Tennessee, and he has trained and encouraged countless biologists and citizens to preserve our natural heritage, fostering an appreciation for our year-round resident bird species and the neo-tropical migrants that come to Tennessee from Central America, Mexico and South America to reproduce.

TWF Executive Director Mike Butler and several volunteers were also honored for their efforts in supporting, defending and ultimately passing the right to hunt and fish constitutional amendment.

This year there were no nominations for:
-- Industrial Conservationist
-- Conservation Communicator
-- Youth Conservationist
-- Air Conservationist
-- Ged Petit Award
-- Lou Williams Award