2009 National Wetlands Awards Recipients

Ken Brunswick

Indiana Department of Natural Resources - Division of Nature Preserves
Geneva, IN
After graduating from BSU, Mr. Brunswick spent the next ten years restoring the 428-acre Loblolly Marsh Wetland Preserve – part of the Limberlost Wetlands – and leading efforts to purchase and restore an additional 1,092 acres of farmed wetlands.

Melissa Samet

American Rivers
San Anselmo, California
The Senior Director of Water Resources at American Rivers in San Francisco, Melissa Samet has dedicated her career to the protection and restoration of wetlands through the use of advocacy, education, and litigation.

Richard "Rick" Gitar

Fond du Lac Reservation
Cloquet, MN
Richard "Rick" Gitar is a Water Regulatory Specialist for the Fond du Lac Reservation’s Office of Water Protection in Northeastern Minnesota.

Richard Thieriot

Llano Seco Ranch
San Francisco, CA
Richard Thieriot, born and raised in California, has had a passion for waterfowl and wetlands since his youth.

Peter Bahls

Northwest Watershed Institute
Port Townsend, WA
Aquatic biologist, Peter Bahls, founded the Northwest Watershed Institute in 2001 to provide scientific and technical support for habitat restoration in the Pacific Northwest.

Carol Johnston

South Dakota State University
Brookings, SD
Dr. Carol A. Johnston has been advancing wetland science for the past 35 years, from her first job as an air photo interpreter for the New York State Wetlands Inventory to her present job as a Professor at South Dakota State University.

Susan Vincent

Young Women's Leadership School
New York, NY
Ms. Susan Vincent teaches Earth and Marine Sciences and chairs the science department at The Young Women’s Leadership School of East Harlem in New York City.