RALEIGH, N.C. (Nov. 20, 2009) – The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission is seeking nominations through Jan. 30 for the fifth annual Thomas L. Quay Award.
The award, the Commission’s most prestigious, recognizes individuals who make outstanding contributions to wildlife diversity in North Carolina and who are considered leaders in wildlife resources conservation.
The winner of the 2010 award will join four respected leaders in the wildlife conservation field. The first recipient was Quay himself, a retired professor of zoology at N.C. State University and self-described “full-time volunteer and unpaid environmental activist.” While at N.C. State, Quay focused much of his work on how birds relate to their environments and studied a wide variety of birds — from songbirds to ringnecked pheasants to colonial waterbirds.
Dr. James Parnell, professor emeritus of biological sciences at the University of North Carolina Wilmington, received the award in 2007 in recognition of his pioneering research on colonial nesting waterbirds and shorebirds on dredge-material islands. In honor of his lifelong work and dedication towards the conservation of these species, the N.C. Coastal Islands Sanctuary program was officially designated as the James F. Parnell Waterbird Sanctuary System.
The 2008 winner was Randall Wilson, the first supervisor of the Commission’s Wildlife Diversity Program who retired in 2005 after 30 years of service. As the program’s first supervisor, Wilson was instrumental in growing it from a staff of four in 1988 to more than 25 biologists 20 years later.
This year’s winner, Tom Henson, was the statewide coordinator for the Wildlife Diversity Program before retiring with 29 years of service in 2004. Henson was instrumental in developing thriving conservation partnerships, such as N.C. Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation and N.C. Partners in Flight. He 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.
The Nongame Wildlife Advisory Committee will recommend one nominee for consideration by the Wildlife Commissioners at their May meeting. The winner will be announced at the Commissioners’ meeting in July.
To submit a nomination, send a copy of the nomination form to martha.homovec@ncwildlife.org. Click here to download the nomination form.
Electronic submissions are preferred. Please enter “Thomas L. Quay Wildlife Diversity Award” in the subject line.
Mail hard copies to: Martha Homovec, N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission, Division of Wildlife Management, 1722 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, N.C. 27699-1722.
For more information on the nomination process, contact Homovec at (919) 707-0063.
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