A prestigious award program that celebrates voluntary conservation by farmers and forestland owners is coming to New England, and New England Forestry Foundation (NEFF) is excited to be a part of this opportunity to recognize the exceptional conservation work taking place every day across our region’s working forests.

The Leopold Conservation Award® recognizes landowners who inspire others with their dedication to ethical land, water and wildlife habitat management on agricultural land. Sand County Foundation will present the annual award in partnership with NEFF and American Farmland Trust-New England. New England’s first award recipient will receive the $10,000 award later this year.

The application process is now open and runs through July 15; specifically, applications must be postmarked by July 15. If you or someone you know is a good fit for the award, take a look at the application for more information and then either submit an application for yourself or use it to nominate another landowner.

The application is found at: sandcountyfoundation.org/uploads/New-England-2019-CFN.pdf

Owners of forestland and farmland in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont may apply for the award themselves or be nominated by another party. Applications will be reviewed by an independent panel of agricultural and forestry conservation leaders.

Sand County Foundation gives the Leopold Conservation Award to farmers, ranchers and foresters in states across the U.S. in honor of renowned conservationist Aldo Leopold. In his influential 1949 book, “A Sand County Almanac,” Leopold called for an ethical relationship between people and the land they own and manage.

The New England Leopold Conservation Award is made possible through the generous support of New England Forestry Foundation, American Farmland Trust-New England, The John Merck Fund, The Ida and Robert Gordon Family Foundation, Wildlands and Woodlands, Whole Foods Market, David and Ann Ingram, and the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies.