WASHINGTON (February 5, 2008) — Representative Norm Dicks (D-WA) will receive the Ansel Adams Award from The Wilderness Society Wednesday for his leadership in national conservation funding programs.
“Representative Dicks has worked tirelessly for over 30 years to preserve our natural resources,” said The Wilderness Society President William H. Meadows. “As the very active and engaged chair of the House Interior and Environment Appropriations Subcommittee, he has championed important new initiatives on watershed restoration and climate change to meet the environmental challenges of the 21st century.” One of Representative Dicks’ notable recent achievements was the creation of a Legacy Roads and Trails Remediation Program that will provide nearly $40 million this year to improve water quality, fish habitat and recreational access.
The award will be presented at The Wilderness Society’s reception in the House of Representatives on February 6th.
“The environment has always been a priority for Representative Dicks,” Meadows noted. “Over the years, he has led the way to increased funding of the Land and Water Conservation Fund and other important conservation programs, including national wildlife refuges and salmon recovery plans.”
Michelle Ackermann, The Wilderness Society’s Pacific Northwest regional director, based in Seattle, said that it is appropriate that a representative from Washington state is recognized as a conservation champion. “Washington is home to ancient forests, breathtaking mountain peaks, the crashing rapids of salmon spawning rivers and glacier-covered active volcanoes. We are fortunate to have a skillful advocate like Congressman Dicks leading efforts for the sound management of these lands and the other places that belong to all Americans,” Ackermann said. In Washington state, The Wilderness Society is working closely with the Congressman to restore the Skokomish River watershed in the Olympic National Forest.
The Ansel Adams Award is named for the celebrated photographer who, until his death (on Earth Day in 1984), was an outspoken advocate for safeguarding the nation’s natural heritage. Prior winners of the Ansel Adams Award include President Jimmy Carter, former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell, former Vice President Al Gore, former Idaho Governor Cecil Andrus, former Senator John Chafee, former Interior Secretary Stewart Udall and Washington state Senator Maria Cantwell.
Founded in 1935, The Wilderness Society is a nonprofit conservation organization dedicated to protecting America’s wilderness and wildlife. The group has more than 310,000 members and supporters.
