Our annual awards event takes place in the late summer or fall. It’s been held at Smoke and Thelma Elser’s historic barn in a room surrounded by reminders of many years’ worth of outdoor adventures. Roundtable members are notified of the awards event well in advance. Attendance is limited but if there’s still leftover capacity after members’ RSVPs have been received we’ll welcome non-members’ attendance as well. An invitation to the general public will be on this news page along with RSVP information.

News about members that would interest other members and the public, both good news about members’ accomplishments as well as unwelcome news, will also appear on this page.

Annual awards presented for 2024

The Missoula Conservation Roundtable held its annual awards dinner on September 19, 2024 and recognized seven persons for their outstanding contributions to natural resource conservation.

Pelah Hoyt received the Don Aldrich Award, named after the pioneering conservationist whose remarkable achievements set a path forward for others. The award recognizes major conservation achievements as a volunteer or professional over a long period of time. Pelah is currently the Director of Landscape Connectivity, Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative based in Missoula. She leads the connectivity team to ensure key wildlife corridors connect core habitats within priority areas between the Yellowstone and Yukon ecosystems. Previous to that she was CSKT-MT Compact Coordinator with the Montana Department of Natural Resources, and Conservation, Missoula, Mt. She collaborated with the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (CSKT) to implement water agreements protecting tribal and agricultural water uses. Earlier, she was a large part of the fabric of Five Valleys Lands Trust for fifteen years, first as Conservation Project Manager and then as Lands Director (2013-2021). Montanans and our surrounding ecosystems have a brighter future because of Pelah’s efforts.

Will McDowell was recognized with the Arnold Bolle Award, honoring exceptional achievement as a professional conservationist. Will capped his productive career as a water resource scientist by serving for 14 years as the Clark Fork Coalition’s Stream Restoration Director. He began his work in 2009 designing, building, and implementing a program to restore targeted networks of over-worked and overlooked creeks and streams in the Clark Fork watershed.

Through his strong grounding in restoration science, and his attention to the social dimensions of the work he grew a program from 1 staffer (himself) focused on the Upper Clark Fork in 2009 into a full-fledged department with 7 full-time staff working in 3 sub-basins: the Upper Clark Fork, Bitterroot, Middle Clark Fork, and Lower Blackfoot.
Will’s contributions over time included involvement in the restoration of Grant Creek – Missoula’s “forgotten wilderness stream” and public education about the many benefits beavers provide for riparian and aquatic health. Will’s lasting contributions to the Missoula area’s natural resource conservation will long be appreciated.

Luci Brieger and Steve Elliot received the Roundtable’s Lifetime Conservation Award, recognizing accomplishment in the areas of natural resources or environmental protection over a long period of time. Luci and Steve are owners of Lifeline Produce, located in the Bitterroot. Their 40 years of exceptionally productive farming and gardening, aimed at diversity and sustainability, have created a unique operation that they have made permanent through a conservation easement.

Gary Burnett was also recognized with the Lifetime Conservation Award. For 35 years, he organized people and raised money to conserve natural resources in Montana and across the northern Rockies.

Although Gary’s reach has extended beyond Montana’s boundaries, for the past two decades he’s lived in Potomac, where his roots are anchored through service as a firefighter and board member of the Greenough-Potomac Volunteer Fire Department.
He began his career working as a wildlife biologist for Plum Creek Timber Company. His next role was with the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, helping establish and nurture chapters. He initially led the fundraising campaign for the RMEF headquarters in Missoula at the mouth of Grant Creek.

He next served 10 years as executive director of the Blackfoot Challenge. His effective collaboration with stakeholders led to restoration successes, and his success as a fundraiser allowed the Blackfoot Challenge to expand its work through important additions of numerous staff.

Gary will retire after ending his latest role as Managing Director for Heart of the Rockies Initiative. While there, he led in creating funding and policies that ensured the protection of wildlife populations and their habitats.

Linda Habeck was the recipient of the Burk/Brandborg Award, named after Named after legendary journalist Dale Burk and the forest conservationists Ruth and Guy Brandborg. The award recognizes outstanding individual effort by a volunteer citizen-activist. Linda has been a passionate leader for the betterment of open lands and wildlife resources during her many years with the Ravalli County Fish & Wildlife Association. She has made outstanding contributions to the betterment of our natural and wildlife resources.

Jessy Stevenson received the Emerging Conservationist Award, recognizing emerging leadership in the field of natural resources management or environmental protection. Considering her accomplishments, it is hard to believe that it was only 2019 when Jessy graduated from the University of Montana with a double major in resource conservation and environmental studies. Since that time, Jessy has held several professional positions, including as the Northern Rockies Associate Director for American Rivers, and most recently as the Crown Community Conservation Specialist with The Wilderness Society (TWS).

Jessy is also generous with her time outside of work, and spends her personal time as a volunteer leader in her community. She has served as the Vice-Chair of Swan Valley Connections (SVC). Colleagues praise her thoughtful questions, attentive listening, and the building of trust as reflecting a rare skill for co-creating solutions with people from diverse backgrounds.
In her current professional and volunteer roles, Jessy collaborates extensively with communities, Tribes, and partners throughout the Crown of the Continent region on a wide variety of conservation issues. Jessy’s work involves fostering community-driven conservation efforts, promoting sustainable economic development, enhancing public engagement in the stewardship of lands and waters, and promoting the importance of equity and inclusivity in these conservation communities. Jessy is truly an inspiration for others.

31 Aug 2023: Annual awards presented for 2023

The Missoula Conservation Roundtable honored six area residents at its annual awards dinner the evening of August 31st at Smoke and Thelma Elser’s historic barn in the Rattlesnake. Seventy-two members and guests enjoyed an evening of congeniality and celebration. Honorees were recognized for their important contributions to the nurturing and protection of our natural environment. Over the past three decades, the Roundtable has recognized more than 100 folks for conserving the lands, water, and wildlife in the valleys surrounding Missoula.

Karen Sippy received the Roundtable’s Don Aldrich Award for her tireless, volunteer advocacy for Missoula’s urban forest. She is a founding member and volunteer executive director of Trees for Missoula (TFM). Since 2011, she has worked closely with Missoula’s Urban Forestry Division, to identify how the community and TFM volunteers could best promote a healthy urban forest. The award is named after a pioneer Montana volunteer conservationist, the late Donald Aldrich.

Germaine White received the Arnold Bolle Award. Germaine’s career as a natural resource educator for the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes has made lasting contributions to communities across western Montana. She has devoted her long career to developing and promoting innovative natural resource educational materials that blend Indigenous ways of knowing with western science. She’s been a bridge-builder between the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes and other communities in western Montana, including Missoula. The Bolle Award’s namesake is the late Dr. Arnold Bolle, former dean of the University of Montana’s School of Forestry, whose life demonstrated an unparalleled commitment to conservation.

Seamus Land was honored with the Emerging Conservationist Award, recognizing emerging leadership in the field of natural resource management or environmental protection. Seamus’ remarkable commitment to the study of Grant Creek and his collaboration with residents are first steps in the creek’s restoration. Seamus began studying Grant Creek as part of his master’s degree in environmental studies (EVST) from the University of Montana.

Casey Ryan, recipient of the 2021 Emerging Conservationist Award, was recognized belatedly due to the Covid-cancellation of the awards event that year. He is currently a hydrologist with the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes. In addition to his professional responsibilities, he serves on several area councils and advisory boards. Casey’s warm, enthusiastic leadership sustains natural resources by building knowledge and relationships across generations and cultures.

The Roundtable recognized three honorees with the Lifetime Award for distinguished, well-recognized accomplishments in environmental conservation over a long period of time. Lifetime honorees were George Bettas, Kathy and Wayne Hadley, and Roy and Susan O’Connor.

George Bettas has for decades been an exceptionally effective leader in wildlife conservation and education. George’s leadership has left his footprint on numerous conservation organizations and projects over many years (both locally and nationally), and has positively influenced an untold number of young conservationists and hunters.

Kathy and Wayne Hadley were leaders initiating efforts to clean up the Clark Fork River. Kathy co-founded the Clark Fork Coalition and continued her natural resource advocacy both as a volunteer and a professional, most recently as Director of the National Center for Appropriate Technology. Wayne passed away in March of this year. He had a 23-year career as a fisheries biologist with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks. He was strongly outspoken in support of policies and practices that strengthened our outdoor heritage.

Roy and Susan O’Connor have contributed greatly for more than 30 years to the conservation of fish and wildlife in Western Montana through their foundational support of environmental education, watershed group coordination, aquatic habitat improvement protection of large swaths of open space and advocacy aimed at preserving Montana’s uncommon wildland and wildlife heritage.