2025 Awards
2025 Award Recipients
The following awards were presented at the TWS-WS Members Forum on Wednesday February 05, 2025, by TWS-WS President Brooke Langle.
Chapter of the Year Award
Congratulations to the 2025 Chapter of the Year, Southern California Chapter. The Chapter offered numerous events as well as more opportunities (additional dates or locations) to participate in events. Repeat events/workshops included the Shorebird Workshop, Salton Sea Winter Birding Field Trip, two Arroyo Toad Workshops, birding walk at Guajome Regional Park, a BioBlitz on Volcan Mountain Foundation’s conserved lands, trivia night (mammals themed) at the San Diego Natural History Museum, a Desert Black Light Walk, and numerous mixers for networking and socialization of our Chapter members throughout the Chapters area. Additional events included a bird walk at Lake Elsinore, flat-tailed horned lizard field opportunity, the launch of a wildlife podcast discussion group called the BioCast Club, and the development of a wintering sparrows’ workshop! Their DEI committee ramped up this year by hosting events for the first time, including two DEI community hangout events (one in Los Angeles County and one in San Diego County), and debuting a new DEI travel award! This award will support individuals who identify with underrepresented groups in the wildlife biology community in attending the Annual Meeting. They will be supporting three individuals by awarding close to $3,000!
Conservationist of the Year Award
The Conservationist of the Year Award went to the Fresno Chaffee Zoo. The Fresno Chaffee Zoo (FCZ) inspires people to care for animals, create connections, build community, and save wildlife. As part of this mission, FCZ strives to be a conservation leader in California’s San Joaquin Valley and beyond. From 2020-2024 they invested over $3,726,678 in a flagship Blunt-nosed Leopard Lizard Conservation Project. Their Wildlife Conservation Fund Grants program awarded $147,000.00 in grants to conservation organizations globally with $32,000.00 in grants within TWS-WS region. In addition, they, lead a Coexist with Wildlife California campaign at the San Joaquin River in partnership with the San Joaquin River Parkway Trust. Included a short Bioblitz, river clean up, native plant planting, assisted CDFW with riparian brush rabbit monitoring and vaccination, and assisted Yosemite NP rehabilitate an orphaned southern Sierra Nevada fisher kit. Finally, their education programming reached over 31,000 students in the Central Valley.
James D. Yoakum Award for Outstanding Service and Commitment to The Western Section of The Wildlife Society
Candace Renger was the recipient of this year’s James Yoakum Award for Outstanding Service. Candace is the point person for our entire organization in most people’s eyes and has been the individual who you go to when you need anything for almost 20 years now. She serves as both a cheerleader and Project Manager for the Executive Committee. She puts hundreds and hundreds of hours into every conference months in advance to make sure each conference runs smoothly. She often takes on extra jobs like booking individual rooms and managing the volunteers. She is always able to answer questions from hundreds of people, no matter how busy she is. The favorite thing about Candace, though, is her positive spirit and can-do attitude. She believes in our mission and genuinely cares for all our members. She is The Western Section’s rock and battery and the best thing that happened to the Section in many years.
Raymond F. Dasmann “Professional of the Year Award”
The Dasmann Award was presented to Dan Airola for his outstanding contribution to wildland management and planning for wildlife species and their habitats, research, planning, and management for at-risk bird species for the past 45 yrs. Dan is considered to be an utmost professional in terms of his scientific research on a variety of declining bird species and has major contributions to research including purple martins, yellow-billed magpies, ospreys, bald eagles, Swainson hawk, and tricolored blackbirds. Dan was a huge supporter and contributor of the California Wildlife Habitat Relationships System (CWHR) and prepared major products including distribution maps, species-habitat matrices, life history notes, and computerized databases. He also authored the Guide to the California Wildlife Habitat Relationships System. Over the years, he has shared his considerable knowledge with others and is known to have coached and mentored many, especially those younger and others who were new to our profession. It is hard to imagine someone more deserving with overall contributions to our profession.
The following TWS-WS member received a past-president’s pin for service to the Western Section:
Randi McCormick, Past-President 2024
The following TWS-WS members received plaques for their service to the Western Section:
Brooke Langle President 2024
Jeff Alvarez, President-Elect 2024
Jeff Lincer, Southern California Chapter Representative 2024
Susanne Marczak, Communications and Outreach Committee 2015-2023
Mike Chapel, Bookkeeper, 2006-2024
Erica Rhyne-Christensen, Sacramento Shasta Chapter Representative 2020-2025
ORAL PRESENTATION:
1st Nicole Lindenauer, UC Davis: Augmenting Translocated Sage-grouse Broods & Guiding Future Release Locations
2nd: Tali Caspi, UC Davis: Impervious surface cover and number of restaurants shape diet variation in an urban carnivore
3rd: Margaret Mercer, University of Arizona: Why did the bobcat cross the road? Urban bobcat behavior and roadkill mitigation strategies
POSTER:
1st: Destiny Saucedo, Cal Poly Humboldt: Spatial Dynamics of San Clemente Island Fox Adult Females and Pups
2nd: Deirdre Replinger, Cal Poly Humboldt: Pacific martens, a forest obligate, persisted after a megafire
3rd: Sierra Olsen, Cal Poly Humboldt: Nest Site Selection of Ferruginous hawk within Butte Valley
In Memoriam
Patrick Lieske 1971-2024.
Ron Duke 1951-2024.