Programs
RNRF conducts national conferences, congressional forums,
public-policy briefings and round tables, international
outreach activities, and a national awards program.
Awards
The Foundation has three annual awards to recognize
outstanding achievements in the renewable resources
fields. Two of the awards—established in 1992—were the
first awards to honor interdisciplinary achievements with
an emphasis on the application of sound scientific
practices in managing and conserving renewable natural
resources.
The Sustained
Achievement Award recognizes a long-term
contribution and commitment to the protection and
conservation of natural resources by an individual.
The Outstanding
Achievement Award recognizes a project,
publication, piece of legislation, or similar concrete
accomplishment that occurred during the three years prior
to nomination for the award. (An individual cannot receive
this award.)
RNRF's Excellence
in Journalism Award, established in 2001,
honors and encourages excellence in print journalism about
natural resources. RNRF seeks to advance public education
and understanding of important natural resource issues
through the dissemination of accurate and
scientifically-based information about the environment.
The award recognizes work by an individual, group, or
organization for print media (such as a book, on-line
report, or article/feature in a newspaper, magazine,
journal, or newsletter).
RNRF also awards a Chairman's
Award for professional service to the
foundation.
RNRF is now soliciting
nominations for the 2013 awards program.
Nominations are due by May 31, 2013. Please
click here for selection criteria and
instructions.
Sustained Achievement Award Recipients
1992 - Gilbert F. White, Boulder, Colorado
1993 - Marion Clawson, Washington, District of Columbia
1994 - E. William Anderson, Lake Oswego, Oregon
1995 - William E. Larson, St. Paul, Minnesota
1996 - William M. Lewis Jr., Boulder, Colorado
1997 - William B. Stapp, Ann Arbor, Michigan
1998 - Jane Lubchenco, Corvallis, Oregon
1999 - Jack Ward Thomas, Missoula, Montana
2000 - William J. Carroll, Pasadena, California
2001 - John Cairns Jr., Blacksburg, Virginia
2002 - Edward O. Wilson, Cambridge, Massachusetts
2003 - Michael P. Dombeck, Stevens Point, Wisconsin
2004 - L. Pete Heard, Madison, Mississippi
2005 - V. Phillip Rasmussen Jr., Logan, Utah
2006 - Heidi Margrit McAllister, Silver Spring, Maryland
2007 - Cecil Lue-Hing, Burr Ridge, Illinois
2008 - William Matuszeski, Washington, District of
Columbia
2009 - Frank H. Wadsworth, Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico
2010 - William H. Schlesinger, Millbrook, New York
2011 - Richard B. Alley, University Park, Pennsylvania
2012 - Frederick R. Steiner, Austin, Texas
Frederick R. Steiner is Recipient of 2012 Sustained Achievement Award
Frederick R. Steiner is the recipient
of RNRF's 2012 Sustained Achievement Award. The Sustainable
Achievement Award recognizes a long-term contribution and
commitment to the protection and conservation of natural
resources by an individual. Steiner has dedicated his career
to raising awareness of natural resource and environmental
issues through extensive collaboration, education,
publication efforts, and presenting and promoting the
application of sustainable landscape design practices. He is
a member of the Council of Fellows of the American Society
of Landscape Architects (FASLA). After completing a Bachelor of Science in Design from the University of Cincinnati in 1972, Steiner went on to receive a Master of Community Planning from the same institution in 1975, and a Master of Regional Planning and a Master of Architecture in City and Regional Planning from the University of Pennsylvania in 1977 and 1986, respectively. He obtained a Ph.D. in city and regional planning from the University of Pennsylvania in 1986. Since 1977, he has been active as a professor of landscape architecture and urban planning at various institutions including Washington State University, University of Colorado, and Arizona State University. In 2001, he began to teach at the University of Texas at Austin where he currently serves as the Henry M. Rockwell Chair in Architecture and Professor and Dean in the School of Architecture.
Steiner has published more than 50 refereed articles, including work in landscape and urban planning, human ecology, land-use suitability, and soil conservation. He has written or contributed to numerous published books, and book chapters, magazine articles, technical and professional reports, films, projects, and studies. His work has required collaboration with local, state, and federal agencies on a diverse array of environmental plans and designs intended to preserve the environmental integrity of developing regions and promote sustainable building practices.
Steiner played a critical roll in the founding of the Sustainable Sites Initiative TM (SITES TM), a cross-disciplinary collaboration to develop LEED-like standards for all types of designed landscapes, and continues to contribute as a technical expert and part of the SITES governance team. He currently serves on the editorial board for twelve landscaping, urban planning, and environmental management publications. His holistic and collaborative approach to the creation and maintenance of the built environment serves to protect and conserve natural resources.
Steiner's most recent published books include Design for a Vulnerable Planet (2011) and Ecological Urban Design: A Process (co-authored with Danilo Palazzo, 2011).
The award was presented on September 30 at a general session of the American Society of Landscape Architects Annual Meeting and Expo in Phoenix, AZ.
Outstanding Achievement Award Recipients
1992 - Water Resources Education Initiative (accepted by a
consortium of nonprofits and federal agencies)
1993 - Illinois Rivers Project (accepted by Illinois River
Project, Inc.)
1994 - Continental Conservation Plan (accepted by Ducks
Unlimited)
1995 - Manatee Messages Educational Video (accepted by
Save the Manatee Club)
1996 - Florida Marine Spill Analysis System (accepted by
Florida Department of Environmental Protection)
1997 - Bruneau River Elk Management National Demonstration
Area (accepted by Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation)
1998 - New Jersey Shore Cleanup Initiative (accepted by a
public/private partnership)
1999 - Guest River Restoration Project (accepted by USDA
Natural Resources Conservation Service)
2000 - Snow Goose/Arctic Ecosystem Education Initiative
(accepted by Ducks Unlimited)
2001 - Stream Corridor Restoration: Principles, Processes,
and Practices (accepted by NRCS on behalf of a consortium
of federal agencies including ARS, CSREES, USFS, EPA, TVA,
FEMA, NOAA/NMFS, USACE, HUD, BLM, BOR, FWS, NPS,
USGS/BRD/WRD)
2002 - Natural Resources Leadership Course for Extension
Agents (accepted by Cooperative Extension at Texas A&M
University)
2003 - Seafood Lover's Almanac (accepted by National
Audubon Society)
2004 - The State of the Nation's Ecosystems: Measuring the
Lands, Waters, and Living Resources of the United States
(accepted by The H. John Heinz III Center for Science,
Economics and the Environment)
2005 - Life at the Water's Edge: A Shoreline Resident's
Guide to Natural Lakeshore and Streamside Buffers for
Water Quality Protection (accepted by Cooperative
Extension at Clemson University)
2006 - Putting Communities in Charge: A Progress Report on
an Educational Support System for Local Land Use Decision
Makers (accepted by the Nonpoint Education for Municipal
Officials (NEMO) program of Cooperative Extension at the
University of Connecticut)
2007 - National
Coastal Assessment (accepted by U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency - Gulf Ecology Division)
2008 - Integrated Ecosystem Restoration and Hurricane
Protection: Louisiana's Comprehensive Master Plan for a
Sustainable Coast (accepted by Coastal Protection and
Restoration Authority, Governor's Office of Coastal
Activities)
2009 - Dig It! The Secrets of Soil, an exhibition in the
Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural
History
2010 - Michigan's Water Withdrawal Assessment Process
(accepted by Michigan Department of Natural Resources and
Environment)
2011 - LEED for Neighborhood Development (accepted by U.S
Green Building Council in partnership with the Congress
for the New Urbanism and the Natural Resources Defense
Council)
2012 - Changing Planet (accepted by NBC Learn/NBC News in
partnership with the National Science Foundation and
Discover magazine)
Changing Planet is
Recipient of 2012 Outstanding Achievement Award
Changing
Planet is the recipient of RNRF's 2012 Outstanding
Achievement Award. The award recognizes a project,
publication, piece of legislation, or similar concrete
accomplishment in the natural resource fields. Changing Planet is a 20-part online video collection produced by NBC Learn in partnership with the National Science Foundation and Discover magazine. It addresses the effects and repercussions of a warming planet and what individuals may do to address the issue. The collection includes 17 short documentaries featuring the latest scientific research on climate change. Three town hall events are also featured, with individuals from science, academia, business, politics, and media gathering to discuss and identify innovative solutions to climate-related issues that affect our daily lives. The town hall meetings convey to viewers three critical aspects often overlooked concerning climate change, namely the universality of the issue, the potential for economic innovation and growth, and the pending natural resource issues we will face as a result of climate change.
Changing Planet is an outstanding effort to maximize public accessibility and participation to promote public awareness and understanding of climate change issues.
The videos and town hall events that make up the series were scheduled, aired, and released throughout 2011. NBC Learn has made the series available free online nationwide. It can be accessed at www.nbclearn.com/climate and http://science360.gov. Accompanying the series are lesson plans and activities for classrooms created by the "Windows to the Universe" project team at the National Earth Science Teachers Association.
The award was presented at the annual meeting of the RNRF Board of Directors on January 18, 2013, near Great Falls in Potomac, MD.
Excellence in Journalism Award Recipients
2001 - Bay Journal, Karl Blankenship, editor; Alliance for
the Chesapeake Bay, publisher
2002 - "Georgia's Disappearing Songbirds" by Charles
Seabrook, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
2003 - "Our Troubled Sound" by a team of reporters led by
Robert McClure, Lisa Stiffler, and Lise Olsen, Seattle
Post-Intelligencer
2004 - "Toxic Air: Lingering Health Menace" by Jim
Bruggers, The Courier-Journal (Louisville, Kentucky)
2005 - "Invaded Waters" by Tom Meersman, The Minneapolis
Star Tribune
2006 - "Crude Awakening" by a team of reporters, The Plain
Dealer (Cleveland, Ohio)
2007 - Platte River Odyssey, the magazine, produced by
College of Journalism and Mass Communications, University
of Nebraska-Lincoln
2008 - "Fueling Iowa's Future: Biofuels" by a team of
reporters, The Des Moines Register
2009 - "Invasive Species of Oregon," Statesman Journal
(Salem, Oregon)
2010 - The Chesapeake Watershed: A Sense of Place and a
Call to Action, a book by Ned Tillman
2011 - Growing Up WILD: Exploring Nature with Young
Children Ages 3-7, produced by Council for Environmental
Education
2012 - "Reversing 300 years of damage / A movement is
under way to purge the trash, bacteria and pollution that
have long infected the city's heart" by Timothy B.
Wheeler, The Baltimore Sun
"Reversing 300 years of
damage" is Recipient of 2012 Excellence in
Journalism Award
"Reversing
300 years of damage: A movement is under way to purge the
trash, bacteria and pollution that have long infected the
city’s heart," written by Timothy B. Wheeler, is the
recipient of RNRF's 2012 Excellence in Journalism Award.
The award honors and encourages excellence in print
journalism about natural resources. RNRF seeks to advance
public education and understanding of important natural
resource issues through dissemination of accurate and
scientifically-based information about the
environment.
"Reversing 300 years of damage" was published by The
Baltimore Sun as a series during 2011. It encompasses more
than a year's worth of investigative reporting by Wheeler
concerning the extent of pollution within the Baltimore
harbor and health risks posed to individuals who come in
contact with its water. During his investigation, Wheeler
interviewed city, state, and federal officials,
scientists, and activists and reviewed data concerning
bacterial sampling, sewage spills and annual Toxics
Release Inventory reports filed by waterfront industries.
At-risk residents and recreationalists also were
interviewed concerning their knowledge of the state of the
harbor.
The report has brought the state of the harbor and
associated health risks to the attention of local
government officials, scientists, activists, residents and
recreationists. Since release of the series, Waterfront
Partnership, a harbor area nonprofit group representing
local businesses, held a day-long conference on the state
of the harbor and released a restoration plan to address
identified issues. Additionally, at least two groups have
created floating wetlands in an attempt to combat the
pollution.
The challenges facing cleanup of the Baltimore harbor are
significant and cannot be fully addressed in the short
term. However, "Reversing 300 years of damage" provides
the public education necessary to stimulate a movement to
address the many issues.
The award was presented at the annual meeting of the RNRF
Board of Directors on January 18, 2013, near Great Falls
in Potomac, MD.
Recipients of Chairman's Award for Professional Service to the Foundation
2001 - Albert A. Grant, Public Interest Member of RNRF
Board of Directors, Potomac, Maryland
2002 - John S. Dickey Jr., American Geophysical Union,
Washington, District of Columbia
2003 - John Marvin Jones II, JM Jones & Associates
LLC, McLean, Virginia;
Robert H. Metz, Linowes and Blocher LLP, Bethesda,
Maryland; and
Larry E. Walker, The Walker Group LLC, Bethesda, Maryland
2004 - A.F. Spilhaus Jr., American Geophysical Union,
Washington, District of Columbia
2005 - Howard N. Rosen, Society of Wood Science and
Technology & USDA Forest Service, Silver Spring,
Maryland; and
David L. Trauger, College of Natural Resources, Virginia
Tech, Falls Church, Virginia
2006 - Sarah Gerould, Society of Environmental Toxicology
and Chemistry & U.S. Geological Survey, Reston,
Virginia
2007 - Enos K. Fry, Provident Bank, Gaithersburg, Maryland
2008 - Enos K. Fry, Provident Bank, Gaithersburg,
Maryland;
Robert H. Metz, Linowes and Blocher LLP, Bethesda,
Maryland;
John Marvin Jones II, JM Jones & Associates LLC,
McLean, Virginia; and
Larry E. Walker, The Walker Group LLC, Bethesda, Maryland
2010 - Sarah Gerould, Society of Environmental Toxicology
and Chemistry & U.S. Geological Survey, Reston,
Virginia
2013 - Ann Cairns, American Geophysical Union, Washington,
District of Columbia