2026 Awards

Raymond F. Dasmann Professional of the Year Award

Wayne Spencer

Accomplishments:

• University of Wisconsin, U.C. Berkeley, and University of Arizona;
• Co-founder of the Conservation Biology Institute (CBI);
• Science team leader on county HCPs ensuring that the best science was incorporated;
• Dedicated to wildlife conservation with a distinguished 45+ year career;
• Worked tirelessly on the “frontlines” of many difficult conservation issues;
• Dedicated to bringing the best science to the most difficult challenges we face;
• His key insights as well as practical long-term management strategies have contributed to conserving and managing species and their ecosystems
• Model and mentor for many in our profession.

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Barrett A. Garrison Outstanding Mentor Award

Shannon Lemieux AND Katie Rock

Accomplishments:

• Empowered and uplifted our Student and Early Career Professional members;
• Developed programs and events that bring the student groups together and to the table of the Western Section Executive Board;
• Offer monthly (usually) Zoom and similar “Career Builder Workshops,” which are open to all but focused on students and ECPs, on resumes, “elevator pitches,” interview skills and many similar topics;
• Informal “Fireside Chats” or casual (virtual) member meet-ups;
• Offer speed networking and mentorship programs;
• Organizing and assisting Student and ECP events at our Annual Meeting.

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Conservationist of the Year

Oceano Dunes District Snowy Plover and Least Tern Management Program

Accomplishments:

• Promoted successful recovery actions for endangered species at the most popular Off Highway Vehicular Recreation Area in California, which hosts more than 2 million visitors per year;
• Almost 60 years working exclusively on management of SNPL and CLTE at Oceano Dunes District, including 20 nesting seasons from 2005-2025;
• Oversight of a large team of seasonal employees
• Work closely with USFWS and CDFW to review and permit the activities associated with this program.

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Chapter of the Year

Central Coast Chapter

Accomplishments:

• More than 240 individuals attended Annual Symposium
• 3 successful workshops!
• 8 official field trips
• 2 informal lecture series
• 2 Student-focused events
• Numerous full and partial scholarships to students and under- represented biologists to attend workshops, annual symposia
• They have more than 6,000 followers on social media, and more than 2,000 newsletter recipients (679 paid chapter members)

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Diversity Award

Negus In Nature

Watch a great documentary about Negus in Nature: Link to Video

• Empower Children of the African Diaspora, communities and their allies to reclaim their connection with nature and become leaders in environmental justice;
• They break down barriers by creating community and curating safe and inclusive nature experiences that integrate S.T.E.A.M. education;
• They have 22,000 followers on Instagram;
• They get people out to experience various outdoor activities like hiking, backpacking, camping, surfing, and more than anything, a sense of community outdoors;
• Create spaces for those from historically marginalized communities to access the restorative spaces of the natural world;

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TWS Fellows Award

Kelly Fitzgerald-Holland

Kelly Fitzgerald-Holland is a senior wildlife biologist and environmental compliance expert at GEI Consultants in Sacramento, where she leads the biological resources team. She specializes in facilitating federal and state Endangered Species Act consultations, conducting impact analyses and assisting with habitat mitigation planning. Before working at GEI, she spent four years working for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, conducting Endangered Species Act consultations and assisting with critical habitat designations and species reviews. She has also served in the National Park Service, the U.S. Forest Service and the Peace Corps. From 2019 to 2022, Fitzgerald-Holland served as the president of the Western Section. She has also served as the Conservation Affairs Committee Chair and Ombudsperson Program ad hoc Chair for the Western Section. She is the current co-chair of the TWS Certification Review Board.

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TWS Fellows Award

John Eadie is a distinguished professor at the University of California, Davis, and the D.G. Raveling Chair of Waterfowl Biology Emeritus. During his tenure, he has taught thousands of students with a focus on immersive field and lab experiences and researched wetlands, waterfowl and cavity-nesting ducks. His work resulted in 130 peer-reviewed publications that have been cited more than 6,000 times. Eadie was also the only U.S. academic that was invited to help implement the North American Waterfowl Management Plan, serving on a Joint Task Group whose mission was to link harvest and habitat management in establishing conservation goals for North American waterfowl. Eadie also advised the UC Davis Student Chapter for nearly 10 years and served as an associate editor for The Journal of Wildlife Management and Wildlife Society Bulletin from 2004 to 2005.

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Congratulations to our 2026 Student Presentation Winners

POSTER PRESENTATIONS:

1st: Karen Aguilar-Arce, The Midriff Islands: A Golden Laboratory (Undergraduate, Autonomous University of Baja California)

2nd: Oscar Sanchez,  Genetic Clues to Disease Resistance in Wild Finches (Undergraduate, California State Universirty, Fresno)

3rd: Ella Eleopoulos, Anticoagulant Rodenticides in Red Tailed Hawks in SoCal (Graduate, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona)

ORAL PRESENTATIONS:

1st: Monica Serrano-Renteria, Characterizing the SF coyote population using noninvasive genetic sampling (Graduate, UC Davis)

2nd TIE: Jill Carpenter, Nothing good to eat in the city? When urban bats dont seem urban adapted (Graduate, UCLA)

2nd TIE: Chris Smith, Long call PLayback: A novel method for estimating density and occupancy of American Pika (Graduate, University of Nevada at Reno)