At its seventh annual Capital Conservation Awards Dinner Thursday night, the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership honored lifelong conservation leader Dr. Steven A. Williams, Senator Lamar Alexander, and Senator Patty Murray for their lasting commitment to real on-the-ground results for sportsmen. The gala event, held at the historic Decatur House, brought together policy makers, conservation advocates, and outdoor industry leaders.
Dr. Williams received TRCP’s 2015 Lifetime Conservation Achievement Award for expanding access to sportsmen, addressing climate change, allowing science to guide management, and championing conservation funding throughout his career.
He is currently the president of the Wildlife Management Institute and formerly served as director of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service under President George W. Bush. Dr. Williams also held leadership positions with wildlife agencies in Kansas, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts. “Steve has become the moral compass of the hunting conservation community, a role we hope he won’t relinquish anytime soon,” said TRCP President and CEO Whit Fosburgh in his opening statements last night.
Dr. Williams said he’d like to share the honor with the hundreds of collaborators he’s had in more than 30 years of wildlife conservation efforts. “No one gets anything like this done alone, so this award also belongs to them,” he said. “The people in this profession are like family, and it isn’t hard to see why. We all care about the future and where it intersects with nature.”
Senator Alexander and Senator Murray were presented with the 2015 James D. Range Conservation Award—named for TRCP’s co-founder and conservation visionary—for their dedication to protecting what sportsmen value in Congress.
Senator Alexander said that part of his job is “reminding our country how much the great outdoors is a part of our American character. Egypt has its pyramids, Italy has its art, and we have the great outdoors.” The third-term senator grew up hunting and fishing in the Great Smoky Mountains of Tennessee. Indicative of his unrepentant support of conservation, Senator Alexander bucked 51 of his colleagues to oppose an amendment endorsing the sale of our public lands, during the recent budget resolution process. His award was presented by Representative Mike Simpson of Idaho.
Senator Murray was the driving force behind last session’s budget deal that ended sequestration and reinvested in conservation, an achievement lauded by Senator Martin Heinrich of New Mexico, who presented her award. “Patty Murray was able to forge real, lasting bipartisan compromises to make sure we didn’t give short shrift to all those things we care about as sportsmen.” Senator Murray spoke about her love of salmon fishing in the Pacific Northwest and the need to renew our efforts for conservation funding. “I’ll keep pushing for robust funding and to keep conservation and sportsmen’s access a top priority, so our children and grandchildren will have the same opportunities I’ve had to fish these unique, beautiful places,” she said.