Outstanding Achievement Award Recipients
2022 – From Backwoods to Boardrooms: The Rise of Institutional Investment in Timberland (by Professor Daowei Zhang, Auburn University)
2021 – Mekong Dam Monitor (accepted by the Stimson Center, Eyes on Earth, and the Chino Cienega Foundation)
2020 – Wild Migrations: Atlas of Wyoming’s Ungulates (accepted by Matthew Kauffman, James Meacham, Emilene Ostlind, William Rudd, Hall Sawyer, and Alethea Steingisser)
2019 – Engineering with Nature (accepted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers)
2018 – Regional Program on Transboundary Landscapes (accepted by International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development)
2017 – USA National Phenology Network’s Start of Spring Maps and Access Tools (accepted by the USA National Phenology Network)
2016 – The National Disaster Resilience Competition (accepted by U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development, and Rockefeller Foundation as a collaborator)
2015 – Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program (accepted by USDA Forest Service)
2014 – Sustainability: Water (accepted by NBC Learn in partnership with the National Science Foundation)
2013 – Chasing Ice (accepted by Jeff Orlowski, director, producer and cinematographer)
2012 – Changing Planet (accepted by NBC Learn/NBC News in partnership with the National Science Foundation and Discover magazine)
2011 – LEED for Neighborhood Development (accepted by U.S Green Building Council in partnership with the Congress for the New Urbanism and the Natural Resources Defense Council)
2010 – Michigan’s Water Withdrawal Assessment Process (accepted by Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Environment)
2009 – Dig It! The Secrets of Soil, an exhibition in the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History
2008 – Integrated Ecosystem Restoration and Hurricane Protection: Louisiana’s Comprehensive Master Plan for a Sustainable Coast (accepted by Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority, Governor’s Office of Coastal Activities)
2007 – Draft National Coastal Assessment (accepted by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency – Gulf Ecology Division) The draft assessment was nominated in January 2007 in anticipation that the final assessment would be released early in 2007. When the George W Bush Administration decided not to post or publicly release the draft or final assessment in a timely fashion, the RNRF Jury selected the draft assessment to receive the award. The final assessment was released in December 2008.
2006 – Putting Communities in Charge: A Progress Report on an Educational Support System for Local Land Use Decision Makers (accepted by the Nonpoint Education for Municipal Officials (NEMO) program of Cooperative Extension at the University of Connecticut)
2005 – Life at the Water’s Edge: A Shoreline Resident’s Guide to Natural Lakeshore and Streamside Buffers for Water Quality Protection (accepted by Cooperative Extension at Clemson University)
2004 – The State of the Nation’s Ecosystems: Measuring the Lands, Waters, and Living Resources of the United States (accepted by The H. John Heinz III Center for Science, Economics and the Environment)
2003 – Seafood Lover’s Almanac (accepted by National Audubon Society)
2002 – Natural Resources Leadership Course for Extension Agents (accepted by Cooperative Extension at Texas A&M University)
2001 – Stream Corridor Restoration: Principles, Processes, and Practices (accepted by NRCS on behalf of a consortium of federal agencies including ARS, CSREES, USFS, EPA, TVA, FEMA, NOAA/NMFS, USACE, HUD, BLM, BOR, FWS, NPS, USGS/BRD/WRD)
2000 – Snow Goose/Arctic Ecosystem Education Initiative (accepted by Ducks Unlimited)
1999 – Guest River Restoration Project (accepted by USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service)
1998 – New Jersey Shore Cleanup Initiative (accepted by a public/private partnership)
1997 – Bruneau River Elk Management National Demonstration Area (accepted by Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation)
1996 – Florida Marine Spill Analysis System (accepted by Florida Department of Environmental Protection)
1995 – Manatee Messages Educational Video (accepted by Save the Manatee Club)
1994 – Continental Conservation Plan (accepted by Ducks Unlimited)
1993 – Illinois Rivers Project (accepted by Illinois River Project, Inc.)
1992 – Water Resources Education Initiative (accepted by a consortium of nonprofits and federal agencies)