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February 22, 2007 issue

Nature Conservancy’s Director Named Conservationist of the Year

Katherine Skinner Honored with Prestigious Governor’s Award

The North Carolina Wildlife Federation has named The Nature Conservancy’s Katherine Skinner as the Governor’s 2006 Conservationist of the Year.

The North Carolina Wildlife Federation first presented its conservation awards in 1958. With the approval of the Governor of North Carolina, this annual endeavor is now designated as the Governor’s Conservation Achievement Awards Program. It recognizes contributions made in the public interest by outstanding community and state conservation leaders. The highest honor bestowed is that of Conservationist of the Year.

Skinner, a Williamston native, is the executive director of the Conservancy’s North Carolina Chapter. She received the award in recognition of her 20 years of conservation service to the state and particularly for the Conservancy’s recent major accomplishment: protection of 76,500 acres in eastern North Carolina.

T. Edward Nickens, chair of the awards program, said, “There are places in North Carolina that yet appear as if they have been touched by nothing more than wind and water and time….There are places left in North Carolina where, if you squint just right, and hold your head just so, it looks like it always did. A lot of those places are shaped in large measure by the hands of Katherine Skinner.”

Under Skinner’s guidance, The Nature Conservancy has pursued its mission of preserving the plants, animals and natural communities that make North Carolina unique. It has helped protect more than 670,000 acres of wild land in North Carolina and counts among its successes many of the state’s iconic natural landmarks.

Some examples include the following:

• Protection of 76,500 acres formerly owned by International Paper Company in eastern North Carolina

• Conservation of more than 118,000 acres that became the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge

• Protection of 3,000 acres in Hickory Nut Gorge, including the 1,568-acre World’s Edge tract slated to be a cornerstone of a new Hickory Nut Gorge State Park

• Assisting with the acquisition of the 9,750-acre Gorges State Park from Duke Energy

• Protection of 65,000 acres on the Roanoke River

• Creation of ground-breaking conservation partnerships with the military, including with the U.S. Army at Fort Bragg, to protect endangered species

The North Carolina Chapter of The Nature Conservancy and its 25,000 members have protected more than 670,000 acres in the Tar Heel state. Its mission is to preserve plants, animals and natural communities that represent the diversity of life on Earth by protecting the lands and waters they need to survive. For more info, click to nature.org/northcarolina.