Division of Bird Habitat Conservation

North American Waterfowl Management Plan Annual Awards

The North American Waterfowl Management Plan is implemented through partnerships of government agencies, nongovernmental organizations, and individuals committed to the conservation of wetlands habitats and their associated wildlife. The success of the Plan is directly related to the contributions of these dedicated partners. To give recognition to their work, the North American Waterfowl Management Plan Committee seeks nominations each year for deserving Plan partners to receive one of its two awards.

International Canvasback Award

The International Canvasback Award is presented to an exceptional individual, corporation, or organization that has made substantial contributions over a long period of time to the implementation and continuation of the Plan throughout North America.

Examples of qualifying activities include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Initiating, conducting, or enhancing conservation efforts over a long period of time that result in habitat accomplishments of international significance to North American waterfowl populations;
• The initiation of legislation which results in benefits to North American waterfowl populations on an international scale; or
• Establishing a corporate or public policy that results in substantial accomplishments of international significance to North American waterfowl populations.

National Great Blue Heron Award

The National Great Blue Heron Award recognizes participants whose activities at the national, regional, or local level result in substantial benefits to waterfowl and other wetland-associated migratory bird populations of North America over a long period of time.

Examples of qualifying activities include, but are not limited to, the following:

• A gift of land or use of land, goods, or cash that is significant to attaining the goals of the North American Waterfowl Management Plan;
• Major legislative initiatives such as efforts by individual members of the U.S. Congress, Canadian Parliament, or Mexican Camara and their staffs or by state, provincial, or local legislative bodies to establish laws or programs of national or regional significance to waterfowl, other migratory birds, wetlands, or other habitats that help to attain Plan goals; or
• Major actions that provide regionally significant benefits to waterfowl, other migratory birds, and their habitats. This might be an administrative, legislative, or policy action by a state or local government official, a government land manager, a nongovernmental organization, or a corporate board that decides to manage his/its property in a way that, or to market a product that significantly benefits waterfowl, migratory birds, and wetlands.

Nominations and Timeframe

Nominations for these two awards may be made by any individual or organization using the Plan Committee's nomination form. Nominations from each country should be submitted to its respective national office responsible for administering the Plan. Addresses are found on the nomination form. Typically, each national office issues a Call for Nominations each December, and forms are due in February of the coming year. Winners of each award are selected and their nominators notified in March, in advance of the annual North American Wildlife and Natural Resources Conference. Award winners are announced during the conference.

Selection Process

For the National Great Blue Heron Award, Plan Committee members are responsible for reviewing all nominations from within their own country and selecting the recipient(s). The names of the recipients are shared with the full Plan Committee. For the International Canvasback Award, nominations from all countries are first reviewed by the Plan Committee’s Awards Subcommittee, comprised of members from each country. The Awards Subcommittee selects and presents the candidate recipient(s) to the full Plan Committee for final approval.

For More Information contact your country’s Plan Committee Co-chair.

Past and Current Recipients

/birdhabitat/NAWMP/Awards.shtm was last updated 03/23/09 06:21:59

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