David Carter, a wetlands conservationist from Sidney, Iowa, has won the 2003 National Wetlands Award for Land Stewardship and Development. He will be honored at a ceremony on May 20th at the Senate Caucus Room in Washington, DC, for his work as the Two Rivers Wetland Restoration Project Coordinator for the Fremont County (Iowa) Soil and Water Conservation District.
“David believes in what he does and it shows in his dedication to Fremont County,” said Kristie McKinley, District Conservationist with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. “The project wouldn’t be where it is now without his outgoing and personable attitude to work.”
Since August 2000, Carter has worked to enroll and restore over 9,000 acres of wetlands along the Missouri and Nishnabota Rivers in the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service’s Emergency Watershed Protection-Floodplain Program (EWP-FP), Wetland Reserve Program (WRP), and Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). Due to his efforts, Fremont County has more wetland acres enrolled in protection programs than any other county in Iowa.
“I tried to get my land into a wildlife program for over 10 years,” said Robert Mead, Fremont County farmer and wetland easement owner. “It wasn’t until I worked with Mr. Carter that I was able to finally enroll my land into the wetlands program.”
In addition to the land that has already been enrolled, Carter has secured 31 WRP/EWP-FP applications from landowners wishing to participate in the program. These applications are currently awaiting funding and contain a total of 4,500 wetland easement acres. Mr. Carter is also working with new conservation partners to extend the Two Rivers project to counties in Missouri and Nebraska to restore an additional 5,000 acres over the next three years.
Since 1989, the National Wetlands Awards program has honored exceptional individuals who have demonstrated extraordinary effort, innovation, and excellence in wetland conservation, research, or education through programs or projects at the regional, state, or local level. The program is co-sponsored by the Environmental Law Institute, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Natural Resources Conservation Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, USDA Forest Service, and NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service.
”Wetlands are complex and extraordinary ecosystems that perform vital environmental functions,” said Dale N. Bosworth, Chief of the USDA Forest Service. “The work of these award recipients to protect and restore our critical wetland resources is truly commendable.”
For more information on the National Wetlands Awards winners, or the ceremony, contact Erica Pencak at wetlandsawards@eli.org or 202-939-3822.