Banovich Wildscapes Foundation and Southeastern Wildlife Exposition present
AWARD for CONSERVATION EXCELLENCE (ACE)
sponsored by Cabela’s Outdoor Fund, the Cabela Family Foundation & Bass Pro Shops
February 14, 2018, Gaillard Center, Charleston, SC
Banovich Wildscapes is pleased to announce that the scientific team of Dr. Nyawira Muthiga and Dr.Tim McClanahan have been awarded the $100,000 2018 Award for Conservation Excellence (ACE). Along with the other four finalists Dr. Joel Berger and Dr. Ullas Karanth, Dr. George Archibald and Dr. David Macdonald, Muthiga and McClanahan were selected from among over 40 applicants.
For the first time in decades, the ACE event brought together those from the hunter/sportsman conservation world and the non-hunting environmental/conservation world and academia. Banovich Wildscapes Foundation believes that the ACE created an awareness of the need for everyone to work together to protect and preserve the earth’s wild places and wildlife.
ACE recipients were named and presented at a premier gala ceremony with distinguished speakers, celebrity presenters and the incredible animals from the Columbus Zoo and Busch Wildlife. The event was held at the Gaillard Center in Charleston, SC during the Southeastern Wildlife Exposition.
The Award for Conservation Excellence (ACE) was created to recognize the extraordinary contributions made to wildlife conservation by the world’s leading scientists. The ACE is intended to become the most significant award in the conservation arena.
Tim McClanahan, Ph.D ( WCS Senior Conservation Zoologist ) & Nyawira Muthiga, Ph.D (Director of WCS Marine Program in Kenya)
view video
Dr. Tim McClanahan and Dr. Nyawira Muthiga are coral reef ecologists and conservationists who have worked in coastal Kenya, East Africa, the Western Indian Ocean and around the world for more than 30 years. They were founders of WCS’s Coral Reef programs and catalyzed the development of coral reef research and conservation programs in Kenya, Belize, Madagascar, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, and Fiji, and smaller more temporary field programs in other countries, including Tanzania and Mozambique. They have pushed the frontiers of coral reef science and understanding of key management needs for developing sustainable relationships between people and coral reefs. Their years of study have uncovered the natural and human disturbances that impact reef fish and habitats and the rates of recovery under different fisheries management systems. As leading coral reef scientists, they have published more than 300 peer-reviewed publications, comprising influential studies on the impacts of fishing and the alteration of ecological food webs, tourism, sedimentation, climate change and coral bleaching, and the importance of managing gears for sustainable fishing and marine parks for conservation.
To achieve meaningful and enduring conservation, Tim and Nyawira work closely with local communities to implement agreeable conservation solutions that build the capacity for co-management by strengthening the adaptive capacity of local governance, decision-making and increasing incomes of fishers by understanding of social, economic, and ecological processes. In addition to sitting on numerous national and regional conservation boards, their mentorship and leadership have shaped the careers of dozens of local scientists and international scholars, with a particular emphasis on mentoring students and managers in the applied marine sciences and management of Western Indian Ocean coral reefs.
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ABOUT THE AWARD FOR CONSERVATION EXCELLENCE (ACE)
The mission of the ACE is to honor and appreciate a legacy of conservation through recognition of men and women who share their passion to conserve the great outdoors, and have made extraordinary contributions to the sustainability of nature and wildlife. The Award recognizes a conservationist’s long-term commitment to making our planet a better place, and empower people in both local and international communities to advance wildlife conservation. The ACE is intended to become the most significant award in the conservation arena.
www.awardforconservationexcellence.org
ABOUT BANOVICH WILDSCAPES FOUNDATION:
The Banovich Wildscapes Foundation is a nonprofit (501c3) organization fostering cooperative efforts to conserve the earth's wildlife and wild places benefiting the wildlife and the people that live there. BWF supports a total of twelve projects in seven countries. A portion of the sale of Banovich limited edition giclée canvases and Wild Accents benefit the foundation. Founded in 2007 by John Banovich, BWF is the culmination of tireless conservation efforts over the past two decades. Through his career as an artist, Banovich has inspired a deeper understanding of the world and its wildlife, encouraging successful conservation efforts and awareness of endangered species and their habitats. Traveling across the world seeking inspiration for his work, Banovich has utilized these opportunities to research wildlife and to learn about associated conservation challenges at the local, regional, and national levels. Through his career, artwork and his publishing company, Banovich Art, Banovich has developed effective ways to help implement and support conservation programs and is utilizing his imagery to promote a message of wildlife preservation and to initiate real change - BWF is making a difference.
www.banovichwildscapesfoundation.org
NOMINEES
George Archibald, PhD. (United States)
Co-Founder & Senior Conservationist, International Crane Foundation
VIDEO: https://youtu.be/2v1HOhMj5vU
Joel Berger, PhD (United States)
Senior Scientist, Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS)
Barbara Cox Anthony University Chair in Wildlife Conservation
VIDEO: https://youtu.be/perZm36TR8s
K. Ullas Karanth,Ph.D,F.A.Sc. (India)
Director for Science-Asia for the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS)
VIDEO: https://youtu.be/vvMHFnYCSh4
David Macdonald, PhD (United Kingdom)
Founder & Director of WildCRU, Zoology, University of Oxford, The Recanati-Kaplan Centre
VIDEO: https://youtu.be/Td4nbvC7l94
Timothy McClanahan, PhD & Nyawira Muthiga, PhD (Kenya)
Founders, Wildlife Conservation Society’s (WCS) Coral Reef program
VIDEO: https://youtu.be/b50OwcoggaI
SPEAKERS
SECRETARY RYAN K. ZINKE
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
KEYNOTE SPEAKER
ROB KECK
DIRECTOR OF CONSERVATION, BASS PRO
SPEAKER
SHANE MAHONEY
CONSERVATIONIST, WILDLIFE BIOLOGIST & CEO, CONSERVATION VISIONS, INC.
SPEAKER
JOHN ROBINSON
EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, CONSERVATION & SCIENCE, & CHIEF CONSERVATIONIST OFFICER, WILDLIFE CONSERVATION SOCIETY (WCS)
SPEAKER
PRESENTERS
CHARLES MOSS DUKE, JR.
ASTRONAUT, APOLLO 16 & BRIGADIER GENERAL USAF (RET)
JEFF FOXWORTHY
COMEDIAN, ACTOR, AUTHOR
JACK HANNA
DIRECTOR EMERITUS, COLUMBUS ZOO AND AQUARIUM
RICKY SCHRODER
ACTOR, PRODUCER, DIRECTOR
JUDGES
Mary Cabela
Co-Founder, Cabelas
Frank Lance Craighead, PhD
Executive Director, Craighead Institute
Julian Fennessy, PhD
Director & Co-Founder, Giraffe Conservation Foundation
Mike Finley
Philanthropic Advisor to the Chairman, President Emeritus-Turner Foundation
Harry Greene, PhD.
Professor Emeritus; Stephen H. Weiss Presidential Fellow; Faculty Curator of Herpetology, Cornell University Museum of Vertebrates
Jack Hanna
Director Emeritus of the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, Conservationist
Maruice Hornocker, PhD
Hornocker Wildlife Institute, Director
Luke Hunter, PhD
President and Chief Conservation Officer, Panthera
Deborah Jensen, PhD.
Washington Wildlife and Recreation Coalition & Executive Committee, Board Chair
Kate Kendall
Emeritus Research Ecologist, U.S. Geological Survey
Tim O'Brien, PhD
Senior Scientist & Biostatistician, Conservation Measures Wildlife Conservation Society
John Seidensticker, PhD
Emeritus Scientist, Smithsonian National Zoological Park and Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute
Theresa Sowry
Director of the Southern African Wildlife College
Ron Thomson
Founding Member & CEO, True Green Alliance
John Banovich
Artist, Founder & CEO, Banovich Wildscapes Foundation
SPONSORS
Award Sponsors
Cabela Family Foundation
Cabela's Outdoor Fund
Bass Pro Shop
Presenting Sponsors
Banovich Wildscapes Foundation
Southeastern Wildlife Exposition
Gold Sponsor
Behring Global Education Foundation
Hunter Legacy Endowment Fund
Ivan Carter Wildlife Conservation Alliance
KPMG
Weatherby Foundation International
WildLife Partners
Victoria Zoellner
Silver Sponsor
Homann’s Africa
Dallas Safari Club
DeGroote Financial Group
Eyes on You Safaris
Rick Warren Wildlife Gallery
LINKS
Video Clip-Event: vimeo.com/256016941
ABOUT: http://www.wildscapesfoundation.org/ace-award/about
JUDGES: http://www.wildscapesfoundation.org/ace-award/judges
NOMINEES & CONSERVATION HEROES: http://www.wildscapesfoundation.org/ace-award/conservation-heroes/c/ace-award-nominees
VIEW CEREMONY PHOTOS AND PRESS RELEASE
Click LINK to view 2018 Ceremony Photos and Press Release-YOU WILL NEED THE FOLLOWING USERNAME AND PASSWORD
Username: ACE Award
Password: ACE
"The Award for Conservation Excellence brings a critical focus to the world’s dedicated conservationists, and the common ground shared by sportsmen and conservationists. Historically, responsible hunters and fishermen were the first conservationists in all cultures around the world, and today responsible sportsmen contribute significantly to game and fish management and research. This award honors the basic science and conservation upon which modern wildlife management is based. When sportsmen, scientists, and conservationists act together we comprise an enormous constituency that can protect public lands, habitat, and fish and wildlife populations." Dr. Frank Lance Craighead, Craighead Institute
