Tom Henson, second from right, is the 2009 recipient of the Thomas L. Quay Wildlife Diversity Award. From left to right, Commissioner Wes Seegars, Executive Director Gordon Myers, Henson and Vice-Chairman Chuck Bennett.
MEDIA: A hi-res version of the image may be downloaded here. Please credit the N. C. Wildlife Resources Commission.
RALEIGH, N.C. (July 9, 2009) – Tom Henson, a retired wildlife biologist with the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission, has received one of the agency’s most prestigious awards, the Thomas L. Quay Wildlife Diversity Award.
Henson, who retired in 2004 as the state coordinator for the Nongame and Endangered Wildlife Program, was honored during the Commission’s business meeting July 8.
Gordon Myers, executive director of the Commission, presented Henson with the award and a framed photo.
“Wildlife conservation in North Carolina has succeeded due to Tom’s dedication, hard work, partnership building skills and professionalism,” Myers said. “The diversity of his career and experience exemplifies what the Thomas L. Quay Wildlife Diversity Award represents.”
In his 29-year career with the Wildlife Resources Commission, Henson was involved in all aspects of wildlife conservation — from deer and waterfowl management to technical guidance to endangered species reintroduction and management.
In 1986, he joined the fledgling Nongame and Endangered Wildlife Program, now known as the Wildlife Diversity Program, where he served for 10 years as the coastal region project leader, overseeing research, surveys, management and technical guidance for a number of nongame species and their habitats.
“When Tom took the reins to coordinate the Wildlife Diversity Program statewide in 1996, he relied on his many years of knowledge and experience to help shape and guide the staff and projects, broadening the scope of work and expanding collaborative networks,” said Chris McGrath, who assumed Henson’s role as state coordinator after Henson’s retirement.
Through his leadership, agency staff developed the N.C. Partners in Flight and the N.C. Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation programs, helping make both programs thriving conservation partnership vehicles for the conservation of birds, reptiles and amphibians throughout North Carolina. He also led the agency’s effort to develop the N.C. Wildlife Action Plan, a comprehensive management tool developed by the Commission and more than 50 partners to help conserve and enhance the state’s fish and wildlife species and their habitats.
Along with Dr. James Parnell, the 2007 recipient of the Quay award, Henson was a principal player in a cooperative agreement among 11 agencies and organizations for the management of coastal waterbirds that remains the guiding force behind waterbird conservation throughout the state.
He was also instrumental in developing the network of volunteers that now forms the N.C. Sea Turtle Program, one of the largest and most dedicated volunteer programs for wildlife conservation in the state that monitors sea turtle nesting and stranding along the entire North Carolina coastline.
Henson is the fourth person to receive the honor, which recognizes individuals who make outstanding contributions to wildlife diversity in North Carolina and who are considered leaders in wildlife resources conservation.
The first recipient was Dr. Quay himself, a retired professor of zoology at N.C. State University and self-described “full-time volunteer and unpaid environmental activist.” Dr. Parnell, professor emeritus of biological sciences at the University of North Carolina Wilmington, received the award in recognition of his pioneering research on colonial nesting waterbirds and shorebirds on dredge-material islands. Former Wildlife Commission employee and section manager of the Wildlife Diversity Program, Randall Wilson, received the award in 2008.
For more information on the agency’s Wildlife Diversity Program, click here.