Bill Clark Receives Oklahoma Leopold Conservation Award

Bill Clark of Roff has been selected as the recipient of the Oklahoma Leopold Conservation Award®.

The $10,000 award honors farmers, ranchers, and forestland owners who go above and beyond in their management of soil health, water quality, and wildlife habitat on working land. 

Clark, the owner of Rising Sun Ranch from Pontotoc County, was revealed as the award’s recipient at the Oklahoma Association of Conservation Districts’ Annual Meeting on March 2.

Sand County Foundation and national sponsor American Farmland Trust present Leopold Conservation Awards to private landowners in 28 states. In Oklahoma the award is presented with ITC Great Plains, Noble Research Institute, Oklahoma Conservation Commission, Oklahoma Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service.

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. 

Oklahoma landowners were encouraged to apply, or be nominated, for the award. Applications were reviewed by an independent panel of agricultural and conservation leaders from Oklahoma. 

ABOUT BILL CLARK

Bill Clark wanted to be a rancher ever since he was tall enough to feed calves at his grandfather’s dairy farm. He met the love of his life, a rancher’s daughter named Betty, in the sixth grade. Over the course of their 55-year love affair, Bill and Betty’s dreams took root at Rising Sun Ranch. 

In each other they had found someone equally committed to leaving their land and livestock better than they found them. Their ranch grew to about 5,800 acres of native rangelands with the help of their sons, Will and Garrett. 

Bill has been lauded as an innovator for adopting prescribed burning and rotational grazing practices while providing leadership to conservation organizations. However, he says none of it would have been possible without Betty, who died tragically in 2024. 

The Rising Sun Ranch’s welcome sign matches its cattle brand, four rays atop a rising sun: one for Betty, Bill, and their boys.   

It was 20 years ago that Bill came to appreciate how fire could rejuvenate native grasses. A friend who was an experienced practitioner of prescribed fire wrestled the drip torch from Bill’s hesitant hand and ignited the prairie at Rising Sun Ranch. Ever since, Bill has been a proponent of preserving prairie by setting it ablaze every few years. He has hosted workshops and field days for conservation professionals and fellow ranchers through his involvement with the Pontotoc Ridge Prescribed Burning Association.

Following a spring burn, Bill uses a retrofitted Great Plains drill to seed Eastern Gamagrass. The “ice cream grass”, as it’s known, is a nutritious, highly palatable, forage for grazing livestock and wildlife. Its deep root system improves soil health, retain moistures, and supports beneficial fungi. It also provides crucial habitat and food for birds and insects. In recent years Bill has documented the repopulation of Texas horned lizards, quail, and turkeys to Rising Sun Ranch. 

Drilling wells and installing about 30 watering facilities allowed the Clarks to divide their ranch into 60-100-acre paddocks. Cattle and sheep are rotated to a fresh paddock twice weekly during the growing season, and once per week during the dormant season. 

Instead of applying herbicide to control weeds, Bill has found the grazing sheep and cattle works as a tag team against invasive species. Another way the Clarks use livestock to work with the natural ecosystem has been by breeding their cows with Lowline American Aberdeen bulls. Their moderate framed and maternally focused offspring require less grass and feed. 

Bill knows that his efforts to rejuvenate grasslands look inefficient to some, but he sees agricultural conservation as the pathway to returning the landscape to how it was “before county roads, barbed wire, and rural fire departments.”

Others have taken notice of how Bill has navigated increasingly volatile weather, embraced new ways of grazing livestock and controlling invasive species. In its nomination of Bill for the Leopold Conservation Award, the Oklahoma Association of Conservation Districts wrote, “Bill’s pursuit of knowledge about the living world around him and willingness to try new practices is unwavering.” 

Rising Sun Ranch is more than an oasis of lush green prairie and pastures in south central Oklahoma. It’s the living embodiment of one couple’s dream. 

ACCOLADES

“Bill Clark has a true passion for land stewardship. His land and livestock management practices provide continual improvement of their grazing lands,” said Hugh Aljoe, Noble Research Institute Director of Ranches, Outreach and Partnerships. “Bill’s contributions include serving as a leader in his local community, as well as across the state, and inspiring others to be better conservationists and land stewards.”

“Bill Clark is truly a conservationist who understands the importance of being open to new ideas and risking a little for a great outcome. He continues to learn from nature and those around him in order to implement new methods of management and he is willing to be a leader who pays it forward and shares what he has learned with others,” said Jeanne Jasper, Oklahoma State Conservationist for the USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service. “NRCS has been fortunate to partner with him on trainings and field days to be able to show new conservationists what it means to be a true steward of the land.”

“Reverent and faithful describe Bill Clark and his family’s treatment of their soil, forage, water, and livestock. When I hear Bill speak about his ranching and conservation journey it makes me think of a love story. Bill and Betty’s life was that story and that legacy lives on in children and grandchildren. When you’re on the Clark’s place you can see and hear that conservation ethic and legacy,” said Trey Lam, Oklahoma Conservation Commission Executive Director. 

“Careful and responsible stewardship of the land is paramount to a successful agricultural operation,” said Kerry Givens, Oklahoma Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture President. “Bill Clark and his family are a great example of how simple, proven conservation practices can go a long way to improving the land and natural resources farmers and ranchers are entrusted with. We are proud to have agriculturalists like Bill leading the way in land management practices to ensure a bright future for the agriculture industry.”

“ITC Great Plains congratulates Bill Clark on being named the 2025 recipients of the Oklahoma Leopold Conservation Award,” said Patrick Woods, President of ITC Great Plains. “His dedication to responsible land stewardship and conservation reflects the values we strive to support across the region. We appreciate the commitment he brings to caring for the land and strengthening rural communities. Recognizing his work reminds us how much stronger our communities become when we work together to support conservation in Oklahoma.”

“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.”

Among the many outstanding Oklahoma landowners nominated for the award were finalists: Big D Farm and Ranch of Bristow, Phelan Ranch of Mountain Pike, and Cody Sloan of Gore. The first Oklahoma Leopold Conservation Award was presented to Jimmy and Ginger Emmons of Leedey. Last year’s award was presented to Scotty and Jo Herriman of South Coffeyville.

The Oklahoma Leopold Conservation Award is made possible thanks to generous contributions from American Farmland Trust, ITC Great Plains, Noble Research Institute, Oklahoma Conservation Commission, Oklahoma Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service, Sand County Foundation, Oklahoma Association of Conservation Districts, and the Emmons Family.

For more information on the award, visit www.leopoldconservationaward.org.