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Lorelei Costa
907/276-7034
lcosta@audubon.org

ANCHORAGE, AK, December 8, 2008—Stanley E. Senner, Executive Director of Audubon Alaska, and John Schoen, Audubon Alaska’s Senior Scientist, were jointly presented with the prestigious Conservation Leadership Award from the Wilburforce Foundation of Seattle, Washington.

The Conservation Leadership Award is given annually by the Wilburforce Foundation to recognize outstanding dedication, extraordinary effort, and exceptional leadership in the conservation movement. The award winners are selected from the many thousands of people working for the environment within the Foundation’s funding region, which extends from New Mexico through Canada to Alaska. This is the first year that Alaskans have received the award.

The award was given at a surprise dinner in Sitka in September 2008 but was made public last week with the Foundation’s latest round of grant announcements.

“I am truly flattered to receive the Conservation Leadership Award,” said Senner. “It is gratifying to be singled out by a foundation that works with so many worthy organizations and individuals in the North American West, and I consider this to be a validation of our staff and what we are trying to do at Audubon Alaska.”

“We were really surprised to receive the award,” said Schoen. “It is a privilege to share this as a team with Stan, and we are proud of Audubon’s science-based approach to conservation in Alaska.”

In his role at Audubon, Senner directs the eight-person Alaska office and its science, policy, and outreach programs. An ornithologist and experienced birder, Senner developed Alaska’s first “WatchList” of declining and vulnerable bird populations and helped initiate many other science-based conservation projects, including Alaska’s Important Bird Area program. In the past several years Senner often has been a spokesperson for conservation at the Teshekpuk Lake Wetlands in the Western Arctic; the wetlands were recently deferred from oil and gas leasing, a big victory for conservationists.

Prior to joining Audubon Alaska in 1999, Senner served as Alaska Representative of The Wilderness Society during passage of the Alaska Lands Act, as Executive Director of Pennsylvania’s Hawk Mountain Sanctuary, and as Science Coordinator for the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council. Senner is also the voice of the Upper Cook Inlet Bird Hotline, and, defying stereotypes, an avid duck and ptarmigan hunter.

Schoen leads Audubon Alaska’s science program and spearheaded Audubon’s conservation assessments in the Western Arctic and Tongass National Forest. Prior to joining Audubon in 1997, Schoen was a wildlife biologist for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game for 20 years in Juneau, Fairbanks, and Anchorage. Schoen also serves as an affiliate professor of wildlife biology at the University of Alaska Fairbanks and has published more than 50 scientific and popular articles on Alaska wildlife issues. He enjoys wildlife photography and exploring Alaska’s wild country.

Audubon Alaska is the Alaska State Office of the National Audubon Society. Founded in 1977, Audubon Alaska works to protect Alaska’s extraordinary ecosystems, focusing on birds, other wildlife, and their habitats for the benefit of current and future generations.

For more information, contact:
Stan Senner, Audubon Alaska: 907-276-7034, email
John Schoen, Audubon Alaska: 907-276-7034, email

On the internet:
Audubon Alaska
Wilburforce Foundation

Stan Senner biography (93 kb PDF)
John Schoen biography (97 kb PDF)

For photographs of Stan and John, contact Lorelei Costa: 907-276-7034 / email

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