TWS announces 2025 Distinguished Service Award winners

The Wildlife Society’s 2025 Distinguished Service Awards have gone to three long-time members who have dedicated their careers to service in the wildlife field.

The recipients include Howard Clark Jr., a researcher at Colibri Ecological Consulting, LLC; Elmer Finck, a professor emeritus at Fort Hays State University and longtime member of the Kansas Chapter; and Scott Williams, department head and chief scientist at The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station.

Howard Clark Jr. is a long-time member of TWS’ Western Section, where he has served in a variety of positions. He has chaired the Western Wildlife Committee since 2016 and also has served on the Travel Grant Committee. He has worked as the layout editor for Western Wildlife, the academic journal of the Western Section, enhancing its quality and visibility. Clark Jr. has also run workshops over the past 15 years in the San Joaquin Valley, San Francisco Bay and Central Coast chapters on taxonomic subjects, training wildlife professionals on survey methods for special-status species such as the blunt-nosed leopard lizard (Gambelia sila), giant kangaroo rat (Dipodomys ingens), and San Joaquin kit fox (Vulpes macrotis mutica). “He has empowered dozens of early-career professionals through guidance and mentorship at Western Section annual meetings,” said Jeff Davis, principal scientist at Colibri Ecological Consulting, in his nomination letter. “His long-standing service, leadership and impact make him exceptionally deserving of the TWS Distinguished Service Award,” added Hans Sin from the Western Section.

Elmer Finck has served in a variety of capacities in TWS. Starting in 1999, Finck was president of the Kansas Chapter—he also hosted the Central Mountains and Plains Section of TWS’s annual meeting that year and in 2006. His work on meetings continued when he was on the planning committee for the Kansas Chapter’s meetings, hosted by the Kansas Natural Resources Conference in recent years. “Dr. Finck is absolutely deserving of the CMPS Distinguished Service Award and exemplifies a productive member of our professional society—including TWS and the larger scientific community,” said William Jensen, a former graduate student of Finck’s and a biology professor at Emporia State University and a past Kansas Chapter president himself. “I am proud to call myself his student.”

Scott Williams has worked for 25 years at The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station. His contributions to TWS include serving as a president of the Northeast Section in 2019-2020 as well as other positions there. He has served on the Editorial Advisory Board for The Wildlife Professional and currently serves on the Professional Certification Review Board. “His dedication to TWS and its mission is exemplified by his willingness to take on any role that supports the Society’s goals and vision,” said Megan Linske, an assistant agricultural scientist at The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, in her nomination letter for Williams.