Awards

AWARDS 2022

C.W. Watson (SEAFWA)
Dennis Krusac, U.S. Forest Service

SETWS Wildlife Management Excellence Award
Christine Hand, South Carolina Department of Natural Resources
Conservation of black rails through significant advancement of data, knowledge, and understanding of black rails necessary to advance management and reverse population declines range-wide.

SEAFWA Publication of the Year (2022)
Matthew D. McClanahan, Joshua M. Osborn, Heath M. Hagy, J. Brian Davis, Robert M. Wheat, and Matthew J. Gray. Effects of alligatorweed control in seasonal wetlands managed for waterfowl. Journal of the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies 9:105-113.

SEAFWA Best Student Presentation
Lacy Rucker, West Virginia University, Potential impacts of climate change on the geographic distributions of Plethodon nettingi (Cheat Mountain Salamander) and its primary competitor.

SEAFWA Best Poster Presentation
Cindy L. Von Haugg, Clemson University, Relative abundance of natural cavities suitable for nesting wood ducks.

SETWS Student Chapter of the Year
Haywood Community College

SEAFWA Law Enforcement Officer of the Year
Officer Brandon Lyon, North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission

TWS Diversity Award
Daryl Ratajczak and Robert Brewer, Student Wildlands Adventure Program

SEAFWA Diversity and Inclusion Award
Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission

TWS Group Achievement Award
Eastern Spotted Skunk Cooperative Study Group

TWS Fellows
W. Daryl Jones, Karen Powers, John Kilgo

AWARDS 2021

C.W. Watson (SEAFWA)
Robert W. “Bob” Duncan, Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources (retired)

SETWS Wildlife Management Excellence Award
Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel Seabird Colony Team
Rebecca Gwynn, David Norris, Ruth Boettcher, and Stephen Living

SEAFWA Publication of the Year
Hannah J. Leeper and Todd D. Steury, Auburn University. 2021. Potential spatial barriers to black bear dispersal and population connectivity in Alabama. Journal of the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies 8:101-107.

SETWS Best Student Presentation
Madelyn McFarland, Mississippi State University, Avian use of marsh terraces in gulf coastal wetlands of Louisiana.

SETWS Best Poster Presentation
Mikayla Call, Virginia Tech, Survival of American oystercatcher chicks at an important breeding location on the Atlantic flyway.

SEAFWA Wildlife Biologist of the Year
Lori Williams, North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission

SEAFWA Officer of the Year
Lance Corporal Blake Baxley, South Carolina Department of Natural Resources

TWS Diversity Award
Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation

TWS Publications – Article/Journal
Gunnar R. Kramer, David E. Andersen, David A. Buehler, Petra B. Wood, Sean Peterson, Justin A. Lehman, Kyle R. Aldinger, Lesley Bulluck, Sergio Harding, John A. Jones, John P. Loegering, Curtis Smalling, Rachel Vallender, Henry M. Streby. 2018. Population trends in Vermivora warblers are linked to strong migratory connectivity. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Vol 115: No. 14.

SEAFWA Director’s Special Recognition Award
Lance Meek, Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation
Betty Bryant, Arkansas Game & Fish Commission

Caesar Kleberg Award for Excellence in Applied Wildlife Research
Steve Demarais, Mississippi State University

Jay N. “Ding” Darling Memorial Award for Wildlife Stewardship Through Art
Arkansas Northern Bobwhite Conservation Stamp Project

TWS Group Achievement Award
North Carolina Wildlife Federation

SEAFWA Workforce Diversity and Inclusion Award
Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources

SEAFWA Diversity Outreach and Education Award
South Carolina Department of Natural Resources

TWS Fellows
Christopher S. DePerno, North Carolina State University
Rachael E. Urbanek, University of North Carolina – Wilmington
Christopher Moorman, North Carolina State University

AWARDS 2020

Aldo Leopold Memorial Award (TWS)
John Organ, USGS Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit Program (Retired)

C.W. Watson (SEAFWA)
E. “Steve” Miranda, USGS Mississippi Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit

SEAFWA Publication of the Year (2020)
Leslie M. Burger and Katherine E. Abell. 2020. Participation in nature-based recreation by diverse, rural Mississippi youth. Journal of the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies 7: 238–245.

SETWS Best Student Presentation
Mark Turner, Influence of soil amendment on forage quality and vegetation structure in old-field communities, University of Tennessee-Knoxville.

SETWS Best Poster Presentation
Nick Masto, Prebreeding migration strategies of mallards wintering in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley, Tennessee Tech University.

SEAFWA Wildlife Biologist of the Year
Felicia Sanders, South Carolina Department of Natural Resources

SEAFWA Officer of the Year
Corporal Mac Davis, Arkansas Game and Fish Commission

TWS Diversity Award
South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, Diversity Outreach Program

TWS Publications – Edited Book
Kurt C. VerCauteren, James C. Beasley, Stephen S. Ditchkoff, John J. Mayer, Gary J. Roloff and Bronson K. Strickland, Invasive Wild Pigs in North America: Ecology, Impacts, and Management.

TWS Publications – Monograph
Madelon van de Kerk, David P. Onorato, Jeffrey A. Hostetler, Benjamin M. Bolker and Madan K. Oli. 2019. Dynamics, persistence, and genetic management of the endangered Florida panther population. Wildlife Monographs 203.

SEAFWA Director’s Special Recognition Awards
Alabama Aquatic Biodiversity Center, Oklahoma Fishing Trail, and Oklahoma’s Outdoors Are Always Open Campaign

TWS Fellows
Kelly Douglass, USDA Wildlife Services, North Carolina
Leslie Burger, Mississippi State University

AWARDS 2019

C.W. Watson (SEAFWA)
Alvin A. Taylor, Retired South Carolina Department of Natural Resources

SEAFWA Publication of the Year (2018)
Michael L. Schummer, Allison M. Smith, Richard M. Kaminski, Kevin M. Hunt, Elizabeth St. James, and Houston Havens “Achievement Oriented Effects on Waterfowl-Hunt Quality at Mississippi Wildlife Management Areas”

SETWS Student Chapter of the Year
University of Tennessee at Martin Student Chapter

SETWS Best Student Presentation
Ryo Ogawa, Mississippi State University, “Movement Strategies of American White Pelicans During the Annual Cycle”

SETWS Best Poster Presentation
Briana Stewart, Auburn University, “Automated Techniques for Interpreting Game Camera Images from Surveys for Eastern Wild Turkeys”

SETWS Wildlife Management Excellence Award
Georgia DNR, Wildlife Resources Division, Southwest Georgia, Region 5 Staff

SEAFWA Wildlife Biologist of the Year
Gary Norman, Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries

SEAFWA Officer of the Year
Cole Edwards, Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks

SEAFWA Diversity and Inclusion Awards
Alabama DCNR and Oklahoma DWC

Seth Gordon Award (AFWA)
Ed Carter, Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency

SFI Conservation Leadership Award
Emily Jo Williams (American Bird Conservancy) and Healy Hamilton (NatureServe)

TWS Diversity Award
Rena Borkhataria, University of Florida, Everglades Research and Education Center and the Doris Duke Conservation Scholars Program

TWS Fellows
Lisa Muller, University of Tennessee
Colleen Olfenbuttel, North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission

AWARDS 2018

C.W. Watson (SEAFWA)
Karl V. Miller

Caesar Kleberg Award for Excellence in Applied Wildlife Research
Olin E. Rhodes, Jr.

Conservation Law Enforcement Award (AFWA)
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Division of Law Enforcement

Ernest Thompson Seton Award (AFWA)
Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study

Jay N. “Ding” Darling Memorial Award for Wildlife Stewardship Through Art
Chester O. Martin

SEAFWA Publication of the Year (2017)
Andy Little, Gino D’Angelo, Charlie Killmaster, Tina Johannsen, and Karl Miller, “Understanding Deer, Bear, and Forest Trends in the North Georgia Mountains: The Value of Long Term Data”

SETWS Student Chapter of the Year
Virginia Tech Student Chapter

SETWS Best Student Presentation
Paul Burr, Mississippi State University, “Multi-scale Abundance and Distribution Trends of Double-crested Cormorants (Phalacrocorax auritus) in the Mississippi Delta”

SETWS Best Poster Presentation
Joshua H. Nix, University of Arkansas at Monticello, “Habitat Selection of Male Eastern Wild Turkeys in Arkansas Mountain Regions During Reproduction Periods and Hunting Disturbances”

SEAFWA Wildlife Biologist of the Year
Melynda Hickman

SEAFWA Diversity and Inclusion Award
Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources

TWS Fellows
Steven Castleberry, Mark Smith

AWARDS 2017

SEAFWA

C.W. Watson (SEAFWA)
Cindy Dohner

SEAFWA Publication of the Year
Gregory D. Balkcom and Bobby T. Bond. An Evaluation of Georgia’s Public Mourning Dove Hunting Demand and Opportunity.

SETWS Student Chapter of the Year
Virginia Tech

SETWS Best Student Presentation
John Yeiser. How Close is Close Enough? SpatiallyTargeted Land Enrollment Improves Private Land Conservation Success.

SETWS Best Poster Presentation
Charles Sanders. Prevalence of Toxoplasma gondii, Leptospira spp., and Parvovirus spp. in North American river otter throughout North Carolina.

National Blue-Winged Teal Award
Curtis Hopkins

SEAFWA Wildlife Biologist of the Year
Dan Gibbs, TWRA

SEAFWA Wildlife Officer of the Year
Brad Hasamear, ADCNR

TWS

TWS Excellence in Wildlife Education
Dean Stauffer, Virginia Tech

TWS Wildlife Publication Awards
Edited Book: David E. Andersen, David A. Buehler, Henry M. Streby. Golden-winged Warbler Ecology.

TWS Fellows
Roger Applegate, Eric Pelren

AWARDS 2016

SEAFWA

C.W. Watson 
John Fischer (GA)

SEAFWA Publication of the Year
Tyler Pittman and David Krementz, Arkansas Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit
Efficacy of Landscape Scale Oak Woodland and Savanna Restoration in the Ozark Highlands of Arkansas

SEAFWA Wildlife Biologist of the Year
W. Matthew Knox (VA)

SEAFWA Wildlife Officer of the Year
Willard E. “Wes” Stewart (SC)

SE-TWS

Student Chapter of the Year
University of Tennessee – Martin

Best Student Presentation
Mirka Zapletal, University of Louisiana-Lafayette
Carnivore diet on Louisiana barrier beaches.

Best Poster Presentation
Sam Saunders, Louisiana Tech University,
A comparison of radio tag attachment methods in Henslow’s sparrows.

TWS

Diversity Award
Alix Pedraza (SC)

L. McAtee and G. V. Burger Award
Roger Applegate (TN)

TWS Distinguished Service Award
Stephen Rockwood (FL)

Jim McDonough Award
Reggie Thackston (GA)

TWS Fellows
Darren Miller (MS), Michael Mengak (GA)