Conservation Committee: Awards
Avian Defender Award 2008
RAS Avian Defender Award Issued to Dr. Mitchell Byrd
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Photos by Bob Schamerhorn
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For a lifetime of bird conservation, Richmond Audubon Society is honored to announce that Dr. Mitchell A. Byrd receives the "Avian Defender" Award for 2008. Dr. Byrd, is the retired Chancellor Professor of biology at William and Mary College, and founder of the Virginia Center for Conservation Biology.
He has not only accomplished key scientific findings about endangered species such as the Peregrine Falcon, and our country’s emblem species, the Bald Eagle, he has also worked to educate the public about why and how to protect these and other birds. The Center has said, "...likely his most lasting legacy is his commitment to convey an environmental ethic to a public audience."
This award is only given to those who have gone beyond the pale in defending our state’s avian species. In a time when so many of our species are threatened with extinction, this award is one way to inform Virginians about an individual’s good work, and about the importance of wildlife.
Virginia is the only Eastern state to geographically encompass portions of six major ecoregions, and Southwestern Virginia is home to one of only six major U.S. biological Hotspots, so called because of extraordinarily high species diversity and endemism.
The Center states: "His contributions to the management of threatened and endangered species have been synonymous with the history of conservation in Virginia." Dr. Byrd currently warns us to preserve habitat, or we may lose our hard won gains in protecting Bald Eagles and other species.
John M. Roberts,
RAS Conservation Chair
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