Carolinas Leopold Conservation Award Seeks Nominees
January 09, 2025
Nominations are now being accepted for the 2025 Carolinas Leopold Conservation Award®.
The award honors farmers and forestland owners who go above and beyond in their management of soil health, water quality, and wildlife habitat on working land.
Sand County Foundation and national sponsor American Farmland Trust present Leopold Conservation Awards to private landowners in 28 states. In North Carolina and South Carolina the award is presented with Carolina Farm Trust.
Given in honor of renowned conservationist Aldo Leopold, the award recognizes landowners who inspire others to consider conservation opportunities on their land. In his influential 1949 book, “A Sand County Almanac,” Leopold advocated for “a land ethic,” an ethical relationship between people and the land they own and manage.
Award nominations may be submitted on behalf of a landowner, or landowners may nominate themselves. The nomination form can be found at www.sandcountyfoundation.org/ApplyLCA.
The application deadline date is June 16, 2025. Nominations must be emailed to CarolinasLCA@sandcountyfoundation.org.
Nominations are reviewed by an independent panel of agricultural and conservation leaders from North Carolina and South Carolina. The 2024 recipient of the award was Russell Hedrick of Hickory, North Carolina.
“Carolina Farm Trust is proud to continue our partnership with the Sand County Foundation and Leopold Conservation Award both of which bring conservation to the forefront in the Carolinas,” said Zack Wyatt, Carolina Farm Trust President and CEO.
“These award recipients are examples of how Aldo Leopold’s land ethic is alive and well today,” said Kevin McAleese, Sand County Foundation President and CEO. “Their dedication to conservation is both an inspiration to their peers as well as a reminder to all how important thoughtful agriculture is to clean water, healthy soil, and wildlife habitat.”
“As the national sponsor for Sand County Foundation’s Leopold Conservation Award, American Farmland Trust celebrates the hard work and dedication of the award recipients,” said John Piotti, AFT President and CEO. “At AFT we believe that exemplary conservation involves the land itself, the practices employed on the land, and the people who steward it. This award recognizes the integral role of all three.”
The Carolinas Leopold Conservation Award is made possible thanks to the generous support of American Farmland Trust, Carolina Farm Trust, BASF, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service of North Carolina, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service of South Carolina, and Sand County Foundation.
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SAND COUNTY FOUNDATION inspires and empowers private landowners to ethically manage natural resources so future generations have clean and abundant water, healthy soil to support agriculture and forestry, plentiful habitat for wildlife and opportunities for outdoor recreation. www.sandcountyfoundation.org
