Mark McCollough receives “Ding” Darling Memorial Award

Mark McCollough, a longtime biologist and artist, has earned the Jay N. “Ding” Darling Memorial Award for Wildlife Stewardship through Art. His artistic abilities have been raising awareness for wildlife conservation in Maine for over 35 years.

Whether working for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, in the Endangered Species Program at the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (MDIFW), or even during his graduate research at the University of Maine, McCollough’s artwork has brought colorful imagery to wildlife science.

“I’ll never forget my first encounter with Mark’s artistry while we were both still in the wildlife conservation program at the University of Maine,” wrote Maine TWS Chapter member Charlie Todd in an award nomination letter. “Our eagle research budget was inadequate, and he calmly created and distributed a sketch of an adult bald eagle perched in a white pine during a snowstorm. The signed, numbered prints were offered to those making donations to the research budget.”

McCollough has fundraised this way throughout his career, most recently creating a piece for the Maine Chapter of the American Chestnut Foundation showing a blue jay (Cyanocitta cristata) picking nuts from an American chestnut tree. The birds play an important role in the trees’ restoration. They cache fertile chestnuts, which germinate and help repopulate the trees—a keystone species in Maine’s forests. 

His writing and illustrations have been displayed in multiple books, journals and even on Maine conservation license plates, the proceeds of which are dedicated to the MDIFW nongame project. Colleagues say that McCollough’s artwork inspires hope for the future of threatened and endangered species while also educating the public about their importance.

“Mark has offered a poster of all threatened or endangered species listed in Maine in each of the first four state listings: in 1987, 1997, 2007 and 2015,” Todd wrote. “The imagery gives meaning to species like the ringed boghaunter, Tidewater mucket, New England cottontail, mystery vertigo and more, for which many are unfamiliar compared to more charismatic species.”

In addition to directly benefiting Maine wildlife, McCoullough has displayed his artwork at the Eastern Maine Sportman’s Show for 15 years. Each year, he speaks to attendees about wildlife conservation and helps sell raffle tickets for his prints. The raffle proceeds are donated to the Penobscot County Conservation Association, whose projects introduce the outdoors to a younger generation.

McCollough will receive the Jay N. “Ding” Darling Memorial Award for Wildlife Stewardship through Art at TWS’ 2024 Annual Conference in Baltimore, Maryland in October.