Aldo Leopold Memorial Award (2021) 

The Wildlife Society
Mike Phillips was named as the 2021 recipient of The Wildlife Society’s Aldo Leopold Memorial Award. The Aldo Leopold Memorial Award is the highest honor bestowed by The Wildlife Society.  Given Mike’s deep connection to TESF over the last 24 years, the award is yet another example that the organization operates at the highest level of fish and wildlife conservation with a differential focus on restoration of imperiled species. 

Arctic Grayling Award (2015)

US Fish & Wildlife Service and MT Fish, Wildlife & Parks
The US Fish & Wildlife Service and MT Fish, Wildlife & Parks recognized Turner Enterprises, Inc. for conservation activities regarding Montana arctic grayling. The Turner Biodiversity Division assisted these two agencies with maintaining a conservation brood stock of grayling in Green Hollow Reservoir II on the Flying D Ranch; with habitat restoration in and introductions of grayling into the Ruby River watershed; and research concerning grayling reintroduction into SW Montana River and streams.

Governors Environmental Award for Wildlife Conservation (2015)

State of New Mexico
The Vermejo Park Ranch was recognized for wildlife conservation by the inaugural Governor’s Environmental Excellence Awards for the restoration of New Mexico’s state fish, the Rio Grande Cutthroat Trout, to the Rio Costilla.

Recovery Champion Award (2013)

US Fish & Wildlife Service
Several members of Team Turner, including Carter Kruse, Magnus McCaffery, Hanne Small, and Steve Dobrott, were part of the New Mexico Chiricahua Leopard Frog Conservation Working Group that was named as a recipient of the US Fish & Wildlife Service’s 2013 National Recovery Champions. This award is in recognition of the group making significant contributions to Chiricahua leopard frog recovery in NM, changing its trajectory from extirpation from the state to the path towards recovery.

Fishery Conservation Award (2012)

American Fisheries Society
Turner Biodiversity Divisions and the Turner Endangered Species Fund received the 2012 President’s Fishery Conservation Award from the American Fisheries Society in recognition of outstanding work on behalf of aquatic conservation in Montana and New Mexico through conservation projects with westslope cutthroat trout, Rio Grande cutthroat trout, Rio Grande chub, Rio Grande sucker, and arctic grayling. It also recognizes our efforts to initiate habitat protection and improvements in cooperation with state and federal agencies.

Conservation Achievement Award (2011)

Western Division American Fisheries Society
The Cherry Creek Collaborative Working Group received a Conservation Achievement Award from the Western Division of AFS in 2011 and was recognized as a model example of a collaborative conservation effort.

Recovery Champion Award (2011)

US Fish & Wildlife Service
Ted Turner and the TESF were recognized by Dan Ashe, Director of the US Fish & Wildlife Service, for ground breaking work on behalf of imperiled species. Numerous species across multiple states have greatly benefited from TESF’s continued support over the years and are on the road to recovery thanks in large part to these efforts, such as the black-footed ferret, red-cockaded woodpecker, Chiricahua leopard frog and Northern Aplomado falcon. Notably, the TESF has been active and supportive in gray wolf recovery in the United States, both in the Northern Rocky Mountains and in the Southwest. Since 1997, the Ladder Ranch Wolf Management Facility, located on Ted Turner’s Ladder Ranch in south-central New Mexico and operated by TESF, is one of the program’s three primary captive pre-release facilities and has been instrumental in housing and selectively breeding Mexican wolves for release to the wild.

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