2024 Awards
2024 Award Recipients
The following awards were presented at the TWS-WS Members Banquet on Wednesday February 07, 2024, by TWS-WS President Randi McCormick.
Chapter of the Year Award
Congratulations to the 2024 Chapter of the Year, Sacramento-Shasta Chapter. The Sacramento-Shasta Chapter has continued to hold monthly remote board meetings, which has continued to lead to more inclusive leadership options throughout their 22-county region. The Board conducted 11 Board Meetings and has continued to provide in-person events throughout the year and across their large region. By providing local networking and continuing education events they were better able to serve their membership including offering multiple in person events and generating interest from new members in leadership positions. They continued their on-line Bonfire store to streamline members’ opportunity to purchase Chapter gear, while minimizing the need for board members to order and store merchandise. These monies were used to generate funds for scholarships. A Purple Martin workshop provided critical data to CalTrans biologists working on projects impacting the last remaining nesting populations in Sacramento. They also made a $1,000 donation to help support a local environmental play.
Conservationist of the Year Award
The Conservationist of the Year Award went to the California Bumble Bee Atlas. Recent declines of pollinator populations have drawn attention to their vulnerability as well as their importance. A study led by the IUCN Bumble Bee Specialist Group indicated that as much as a quarter of North America’s 50 species of bumble bees are at risk. In California, eight of the state’s 25 species are classified as endangered or vulnerable by the IUCN. The California Bumble Bee Atlas (CABBA) is a collaborative community science project developed to track and conserve the state’s native bumble bee species. It uses the power of community science volunteers implementing a standardized non-lethal protocol to enhance our understanding of the distribution and trends of the state’s rare and abundant bumble bees. With four bumble bee species petitioned for listing under the California Endangered Species Act and one federally listed, the data generated by CABBA is of critical importance. To-date, over 600 volunteers have conducted more than 1,200 surveys around the state, reporting over 6,600 bumble bees and their floral association (and counting as we are still working through the 2023 data).
Barrett A. Garrison “Outstanding Mentor Award”
The “Barrett A. Garrison Outstanding Mentor Award” was bestowed to Ivan Parr. Ivan stands out in our field for many reasons that are suitable for his nomination. Ivan is also selfless to a fault. He tries to assist, help, guide, and even mentor (without that precise label) anyone that approaches him. He is endlessly patient, kind, fair, and supportive. He elevates those around him selflessly, to the extent that they leave the day, situation conversation, or moment feeling more confident and better about themself. One of the greatest gifts a mentor can offer is appropriately supported confidence. Ivan’s genuine passion for supporting and guiding others in both personal and professional pursuits. His willingness to lend a helping hand or offer valuable advice whenever needed is truly remarkable and reflects his exceptional mentoring abilities.
James D. Yoakum Award for Outstanding Service and Commitment to The Western Section of The Wildlife Society
Dr. Jeff Lincer was the recipient of this year’s James Yoakum Award for Outstanding Service Jeff has been a regular attendee on TWS-WS meetings, served or chaired many committees, and has been a session chair at a number of annual conferences over the years. Jeff has been a member of The Wildlife Society (National) since 1970, The Wildlife Society Florida Chapter: Education Information Committee from 1987-1991, was nominated for TWS-WS President in 1992, TWS-WS Southern California Chapter President from 1994-1997, TWS-WS Southern California Chapter Representative from 2009-2020. The one thing everyone has agreed on was that Jeff has mentored many young professionals along the way. In fact, he currently gets calls from young professionals seeking his historical perspective and advice. Mentoring has always been a priority for Jeff and he was the 2021 Recipient of the Barrett A. Garrison Outstanding Mentor Award.
Raymond F. Dasmann “Professional of the Year Award”
The Dasmann Award was presented to Tiana Williams-Clausen for her outstanding contribution to wildlife resources on Yurok ancestral lands for the past 16 yrs. Her work has included field-based and geospatial-analysis research, monitoring, and habitat restoration for threatened and endangered species, particularly avian, ungulate, and mesocarnivore; invasive species management; intergovernmental coordination for Tribal natural and cultural resource restoration; integrating traditional ecological knowledge into active natural resource management and restoration; revitalizing cultural knowledge amongst indigenous youth and establishing relationships with the general community. She was influential in the 14-year journey to successfully bring back North America’s largest terrestrial bird, the California condor, to ancestral Yurok territory after a 130-year absence. The project, which began in 2008, reached a major milestone in 2022 when a mature adult male condor and four juveniles were released. This restores a critical member of our ecological community and promotes recognition of this amazing creature and cultural revitalization for the tribal people and relationship with him.
The following TWS-WS member received a past-president’s pin for service to the Western Section:
Katie Smith, Past-President 2023
The following TWS-WS members received plaques for their service to the Western Section:
Randi McCormick, President 2023
Brooke Langle, President-Elect 2023
Bayan Ahmed, Diversity Committee Chair 2019-2023
Kelly Holland, Conservation Affairs Committee Chair 2016-2023
David Kisner, California Central Coast Chapter Representative 2022-2023
Colleen Wisinski, Souther California Chapter Representative 2021-2023
Melinda Dorin, Secretary 2022-2023
Laura Bertold, Hawaii Chapter Representative 2022-2023
Randi McCormick, San Joaquin Valley Chapter Representative 2018-2023
John McNerney, Treasurer 2011-2023
ORAL PRESENTATION:
1st: Julia Owens-Ramos
Use of Genomic Tools to Investigate the Evolutionary History of Island Spotted Skunks
2nd: Katie Elder
Density-Dependent Habitat Selection and Home Range Sizes in a Recovering Population of Island Foxes (Urocyon littoralis) on Santa Rosa Island, California
3rd: Katie Saenger
Movement of weaned northern elephant seal pups during their first at sea 4 gene migration
POSTER:
1st: Isabelle Smits
Behavioral Responses to Anti Predator Training in Head-Started Juvenile Desert Tortoises
1st: Christopher Collier
Major Carnivore Use of a Post Fire Landscape: Impacts of the Dixie Fire in Lassen and Plumas National Forest, California
2nd: Cassandra Rodriguez
Genomic Sequencing to Compare Pedigree-Based and Genomic Inbreeding Measures for a Small, Isolated Mountain Lion Population
3rd: Alissa Cox
Winter Diet of the Mexican Free-Tailed Bat (Tadarida brasiliensis mexicana) in Northern California
In Memoriam
Barbara Peters 1949-2023.
Daniel C. Pearson 1950-2023.