The 1998 Bushnell Conservationist of the Year Award went to Richard Leaumont, of the Lower Columbia Basin Audubon Society (LCBAS -- Richland, WA). This award is given to an NAS volunteer who in the preceding five years made a significant contribution to the Audubon cause in his or her state or region. Bushnell presented the award to Mr. Leaumont in July at the NAS Convention in Colorado, in recognition of his contribution to the Audubon cause through his work on saving the Hanford Reach -- the last free-flowing stretch of the Columbia River, an area critical to the spawning of the Chinook Salmon, which is in danger of extinction.

Editor's note: The LCBAS chapter also received a 1996 Chevron-Times Mirror Magazines Conservation Award for their work on the Hanford Reach; see Networker, Aug. 1996, p. 1.