Awards

Years not listed mean that no award was given that year.

Lifetime Achievement Award

2023    Bill Smith, Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency

2022    Tom Roberts, Tennessee Tech University

Mark Gudlin, Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency

Ben Layton, Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency

2021    Keith Blanton, USDA Wildlife Services

2020   Joe McGuiness, U.S. Forest Service

2019    Roger Applegate, Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency

2017    Jim Evans, Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, USDA Wildlife Services

2014    Pete Wyatt, Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency

2012    Dr. Michael Kennedy, Professor of Biology, Memphis State University

Ed Warr, Assistant Chief of Wildlife, Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency

2011    William G. “Billy” Minser, III, Professor of Wildlife, University of Tennessee

2010    Dr. James L. “Jim” Byford, Dean of Agriculture, University of Tennessee, Martin

2009   Clarence Coffey, Manager Region III, Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency Ron               Fox, Assistant Director, Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency

2007   Jack Murrey, Wild Turkey Project Leader, Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency               Dick Conley, Wildlife Biologist (black bear, strip mine reclamation, NWSG           projects), Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency

2006   Gary Myers, Executive Director, Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency Larry     Marcum, Chief of Wildlife, Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency

2004    Dr. Michael J. Harvey, Professor of Biology, Tennessee Tech University

2001    Dr. Ralph Dimmick, Professor of Wildlife, University of Tennessee

2001   Robert M. “Bob” Hatcher, Nongame & Endangered Species Coordinator,    Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency

2001    Dr. Mike Pelton, Professor of Wildlife, University of Tennessee


Student Paper Award

Each year the TN Chapter of TWS gives an award for the best student paper presented at the annual meeting.

2024 Ellie Burken, UTK, Northern bobwhite non-breeding season survival varies across Tennessee quail focus areas

Jake Bones, UTK, Assessment of deer forage quality in southern pine stands following prescribed fire

2023 Lindsey Phillips, UTK, Is Eastern wild turkey reproduction in south-central Tennessee regulated by density-dependent mechanisms?

2022 Abby Blake-Bradshaw, TTU, Ruffling feathers: Effects of experimental disturbance on mallard space use and movements.

Mark Turner, UTK, Exploring nutritional relationships among deer forage classes.

2021 Mark Turner, UTK, Improving hardwood forests for deer and turkeys with forest stand improvement and prescribed fire.

Brittany Panos, UTK, Avian use of agricultural cover crops during winter, migration stopover, and the breeding season in Tennessee.

2020 Emily Burke, LMU, Seasonality of questing ticks in Claiborne County, Tennessee.

2019 Katie Harris, UTK, Movements, behaviors, and response of eastern box turtles (Terrapene carolina carolina) to prescribed fire in east Tennessee.

2018 Janetta Kelly, UTK, Host selection of southern blacklegged ticks determined using stable isotope analysis and its relationship to Lyme pathogen prevalence.

Dustin Thames, UTK, Foraging range selection of the tri-colored bat, Perimyotis subflavus, in middle Tennessee.

2017 McKayla Spencer, APSU, Comparative energetics and responses to feeding of copperhead and cottonmouth snakes (Agkistrodon).

2016 Jordan Nanney, UT, Influences of prescribed fire and herbicide applications on forage availability for cervids in the Cumberland Mountains, Tennessee.

2015 Jordan Nanney, UT, Is there any benefit to fertilizing white oaks for mast and forage?

2014 Kevin Hamed, UT, Temporal and spatial changes of mercury contamination of black-bellied salamanders (Desmognathus quadramaculatus) from Whitetop Mt., Virginia.

2013 Teresa Moody, UT, Skinks contribute to the low risk of Lyme disease in Tennessee.

2012 Andy Vander Yacht, UT, Avian response to canopy disturbances and spring/fall burns during oak woodland and savanna restoration.

2011 Ashley Unger, UT, Northern bobwhite habitat selection on a reclaimed surface coal mine in Kentucky.

2010 Jessie Birckhead, UT, Predicting white oak (Quercus alba) masting potential: Implications for management.

2009 Beth Summers, UT, Amphibian and bird assemblages at hardwood bottomland restoration sites in western Tennessee.

2008 Drew Wirwa, UT, Influences of drawdown on waterbird use of mudflats in Kentucky Reservoir.

2007 John Laufenberg, UT, Identifying black bear habitat using a multivariate distance-based model.

2006 John Gruchy, UT, Effects of seasonal herbicide applications with and without discing on tall fescue renovation in Tennessee.

2005 John Gruchy, UT, An evaluation of management practices on native warm-season grass fields.

2004 Ben Jones, UT, Ruffed grouse (Bonasa umbellus) drumming surveys: Insights on design and population estimation.

2003 Ryan Basinger, UT, A silvicultural prescription for eastern wild turkeys in mixed hardwood forests.

2002 Brad Miller, UT, Comparison of Telazol-Xylazine and Carfentanil-Xylazine for immobilization of white-tailed deer.

2001 Karen Wiens, TTU, Effects of headcutting on bottomland hardwood wetlands of the Wolf River near Memphis, Tennessee.

2000 Chris Graves, UT, Effects of salinity on avian use of wetlands at Savannah National Wildlife Refuge.

1999 Richard A. Beausoleil, UT, Strategies for black bear management in bottomland hardwood forests.

1998 Ben Laseter, UM, Population abundance of the Appalachian cottontail in eastern Tennessee.

1997 Dan Gibbs, TTU, Development and testing of a GIS-based habitat model for the eastern wild turkey at Catoosa WMA.

1996 Chris Kreh, UT, Movements, cover type selection, and survival of northern bobwhites in response to disturbance by field trials.

1995 Tyler Alley, TTU, Development of habitat quality models for use in assessment of early bottomland hardwood restoration projects.

1994 Thomas H. Eason, UT, Weights and morphometrics of black bears in the southeastern U.S.

1993 Tim White, TTU, Food habits of black ducks and mallards wintering at the Tennessee River National Wildlife Refuge.

1992 Greg Schildwachter, UT, The pilot reintroduction of red wolves in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

1991 Kip Hollifield, UT, Insect availability to game birds on managed forest lands in the southern Appalachians.

1990 Carmen “Chip” Lombardo, UT, Denning activities of black bears in coastal North Carolina.

1988 Floyd W. “Butch” Weckerly. MSU, Forage abundance, nutrition, and diet of white-tailed deer in western Tennessee.

1987 Jeff Babb, MSU, Home range of the coyote in western Tennessee.

1986 Richard Rucker, MSU, Movement and habitat usage of the bobcat in Arkansas.

1985 Robert M. Lee, MSU, Demographic characteristics of coyotes in Tennessee.

1984 Floyd W. “Butch” Weckerly. MSU, Preliminary investigation of deer food habits in in west Tennessee.

1983 Mark Gudlin, UT, A ruffed grouse restoration attempt in west Tennessee.

1982 Mark Ritke, MSU

1981 Steve Bloemer, TTU, Hunting and non-consumptive use of wildlife on the Percy Priest Recreation Area.

1979 Curtis Taylor, UT, Movement patterns of a gray fox in Loudon County, Tennessee.

1978 Don Allbrooks, MSU, Movements of raccoons on Shelby Forest State Park.

Student Poster Award

2024 Spencer Baldwin, LMU, Utilizing presence only prediction to model (Morchella dinimutiva) distribution.

2023 Jack Bones, UTK, Initial effects of season of burning on vegetation composition and structure.

2020 Lindsey Phillips, UTK, Does soil amendment improve early successional plant communities for deer?

2019 William Brewer, CSCC, Culvert remediation for improved salamander passage on Sina Branch, Ocoee District of the Cherokee National Forest


Tennessee Wildlife Professional Award

2024    Chris Roberts, Tennessee Wildlife Federation

2023    Brett Dunlap, USDA/APHIS/Wildlife Services

2022    Stephanie Karns, Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency

2021    Clint Borum, Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency

2020    Jamie Fedderson, Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency

2019    Chuck Yoest, Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency

2018    Dan Gibbs, Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency

2008    Dr. Craig A. Harper, University of Tennessee

2005    Mike Hansbrough, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service

2004    Mike Butler, Tennessee Wildlife Federation

2003    David Lingo, USDA Wildlife Services Division

2002    Kim DeLozier, National Park Service

2001     Don Allsbrooks, Tennessee Valley Authority

2000    Greg Wathen, Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency

1999    Rex Boner, The Conservation Fund

1998    Mark Gudlin, Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency

1995    Robert P. “Bob” Ford, Tennessee Conservation League

1993    Richard H. “Dick” Conley, Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency

1992    William G. “Billy” Minser, III, University of Tennessee

1990    R.L. Pete Wyatt, Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency

1989    Dr. Michael Kennedy, Memphis State University

1988    Dr. Ralph Dimmick, University of Tennessee

1987    Robert M. “Bob” Hatcher, Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency

1986    Dr. Mike Pelton, University of Tennessee

1985    Dr. James L. “Jim” Byford, University of Tennessee

Conservation Hero Award

2017    Ryan Williamson and Andrew Harrington, Great Smoky Mountains National        Park