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Office of the Secretary
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 24, 2007
Contacts:
Joan Moody, 202-208-6416

Interior Secretary Kempthorne Presents Top Conservation Award to Maryland Eagle Scout Joshua Stone

Interior Secretary Kempthorne Presents Top Conservation Award to Maryland Eagle Scout Joshua Stone. [Photo Credit: Tami Heilemann]
Interior Secretary Kempthorne Presents Top Conservation Award to Maryland Eagle Scout Joshua Stone. [Photo Credit: Tami Heilemann]

WASHINGTON — Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne today presented Eagle Scout Joshua P. Stone of Royal Oak, Md. with the William T. Hornaday Silver Medal for distinguished service in conservation during a ceremony at the Interior Department headquarters.

The award, which has been given out only about 1,100 times nationwide since 1914, recognizes Stone’s conservation projects at Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge and other areas. Stone, 18, belongs to Eagle Scout Troop 741 of St. Michael’s, Md., part of the Del-Mar-Va Council of the Boy Scouts of America.

“We’re extremely proud of you and salute your commitment to leaving our country an even better land than you found it,” Secretary Kempthorne told Stone during the ceremony. “Conservation takes the combined commitment of not only federal and state agencies and conservation organizations, but also an informed and engaged public, organizations such as the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, ranchers, hunters, fisherman and involved parents to ensure that our natural resources will be preserved and protected now and in the future.

The award recognizes Joshua Stone’s conservation projects –obtaining and overseeing the planting of 2,000 trees at the Lewis Tract of the Blackwater Wildlife Refuge; restoring shoreline at Wye Island Natural Resources Management Area; mapping 950 acres at the Jean Ellend DuPont Sheehan Audubon Sanctuary in conjunction with invasive species control; and working some 437 hours to establish the baseline data for water quality for the Blackwater River Watershed.

In addition to the Secretary, Joshua Stone and other members of Troop 741, others participating in the ceremony included Roger and Kathy Stone, Joshua’s parents; Frank Reigelman, Director of Camping and Conservation, Boy Scouts of America; Kevin Adams, Senior Advisor, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; Cliff Berg, President, Del-Mar-Va BSA Council; and Glenn Carowan, Refuge Manager, and staff of Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge.

 
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