The project leader at the Silvio O. Conte National Fish and Wildlife Refuge, Andrew French was recognized as a 2012 Take Pride in America Federal Land Manager of the Year. Each year, Take Pride in America recognizes outstanding federal partnerships, volunteers and managers. Federal land managers are honored for their innovative approaches to recruiting volunteers and cultivating their volunteer programs, and French was selected as the recipient for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Silvio O. Conte National Fish and Wildlife Refuge conserves over 34,000 acres in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont and New Hampshire. Under French’s leadership and close collaboration with staff and partners, about 1,000 acres per year have been added to the Silvio O. Conte Refuge since December 2002, reaching the 396 communities and over two million people residing within the Connecticut River watershed.
‘The successes that attracted this level of recognition are attributed to the conservation, education and recreation partnership that continues to evolve and strengthen within the Connecticut River watershed,” said French. “I am honored to receive the award. It is the partnership that makes so many things possible.”
French worked with the Friends of Silvio O. Conte to develop a proposal for the Connecticut River Watershed Blueway, which led to the establishment of the National Blueway System. On May 24, 2012, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar signed Secretarial Order 3321 creating the National Blueway System and later that day designated the Connecticut River and the watershed as the first National Blueway in the nation. It is being used as a model for the development of the National Blueway System.
Working further to engage nearby communities in efforts to conserve and enjoy the river, French deployed of the Watershed on Wheels (WoW) Express in the fall of 2010. The WoW Express serves as a mobile education program traveling to urban and rural destinations throughout Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont. In its first year alone, the WoW Express brought conservation messages and education programs to nearly 25,000 students and visitors.
The chair of the Friends of Silvio O. Conte Refuge, Patrick Comins, nominated French for the award. “French looks for opportunities to identify meaningful and priority projects that will generate interest, build support, and encourage participation and stewardships by acting on the public’s ideas and figuring out a way to get them to invest their efforts,” said Comins in the nomination form.
Andrew French can be contacted at Andrew_French@fws.gov or at 413-548-8002.
Andrew French Federal Land Manager of the Year
