Secretary Salazar Presents Rappahannock Land Protection Partnership with Partners in Conservation Award

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar today presented a Partners in Conservation Award to the Rappahannock Land Protection Partnership in Virginia.

It was one of 26 national awards to individuals and organizations presented at a ceremony at Interior headquarters in Washington, D.C. to honor “those who achieve natural resource goals in collaboration and partnership with others.”

The 26 Partners in Conservation Awards recognize conservation achievements resulting from the cooperation and participation of a total of 600 individuals and organizations including landowners; citizens' groups; private sector and nongovernmental organizations; and federal, state, local, and/or tribal governments.

“The Partners in Conservation Awards demonstrate that our greatest conservation legacies often emerge when stakeholders, agencies, and citizens from a wide range of backgrounds come together to address shared challenges,” the Secretary said. “The Rappahannock collaboration has provided a model for other groups about the importance of forming partnerships in protecting land and about the importance of the Land and Water Conservation Fund in acquiring land.”

The Rappahannock Land Protection Partnership began with the 1996 establishment of the Rappahannock River Valley National Wildlife Refuge to protect natural, cultural, and historic resources along Virginia's Rappahannock River, one of the most important tributaries of the Chesapeake Bay. The partnership has protected more than 8,000 acres as part of the refuge and another 1,320 acres in a conservation easement.

“These 26 awards recognize the dedicated efforts of thousands of people from all walks of life, from across our nation– and from across our borders with Canada and Mexico,” Salazar noted. “They celebrate partnerships that conserve and restore our nation's treasured landscapes and watersheds, partnerships that engage Native American communities, and partnerships that engage youth.”

Award recipients include:
Lynda Frost, Trust for Public Land
Libby Norris, Chesapeake Bay Foundation
Reggie Hall, The Conservation Fund
Andy Lacatell, David Phemister, The Nature Conservancy
Joe Thompson, Northern Neck Land Conservancy
Terry Banks, Jaffray Cox, U.S. Army, Fort A.P. Hill
Joan Marchi, Joseph McCauley, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Estie Thomas, Virginia Outdoors Foundation