Reston, VA (March 31) – The nation’s leading conservation organization dedicated to protecting wildlife is honoring Everett “Brownie” Carson, executive director of the Natural Resources Council of Maine, with its National Conservation Achievement Award for exemplary leadership in protecting wildlife and natural resources. Brownie is receiving his special achievement award from the National Wildlife Federation at the organization’s annual meeting in the nation’s capital today. Other recipients of this year’s conservation awards include Lady Bird Johnson, Senators McCain and Lieberman, Governor Bill Richardson and journalist Elizabeth Shogren.
Brownie has served as the executive director of the Natural Resources Council of Maine for twenty years. During this time he has shaped the organization into one of the most effective state-based environmental advocacy groups in the nation. The accomplishments and growth of NRCM from seven to twenty-six staff members marks the success and contribution of Brownie’s reign at NRCM. Under his leadership, the staff has become extremely effective at informing and bringing together Maine citizens to claim their natural heritage by making their voices heard on environmental issues.
Many of Maine’s first-in-the-nation environmental laws are the result of Brownie’s efforts. These include the expansion of Maine’s Bottle Bill to include non-carbonated and alcoholic beverages, a law requiring automakers to remove mercury-activated electrical switches, a law requiring manufacturers to collect and safely recycle lead- and mercury-laden computer monitors and television sets, and the Growth Management Act, which gives local communities the tools to fight sprawl. Brownie also spearheaded the successful removal of the Edwards Dam on the Kennebec River in 1999. As a result, alewives, sturgeon, and other sea-run fish, along with osprey, bald eagles, and other wildlife, now flourish in an additional 17 miles of free-flowing river, with more to come.
Many times, the policies Brownie has helped to establish have had implications far beyond state boundaries. For example, his efforts resulted in Maine’s precedent-setting global warming pollution reduction goals being enacted into statute in 2003—a law being watched carefully by other states across the country.
The National Conservation Achievement Awards were established in 1965 to recognize individuals and organizations playing a leadership role in helping to protect wildlife and wild places.
Nominations are received from the conservation community and the general public with winners selected by the National Wildlife Federation Board of Directors.
The National Wildlife Federation is America’s conservation organization protecting wildlife for our children’s future.
The Natural Resources Council of Maine is Maine’s leading advocacy organization protecting our water, air, forests, and wildlife. A membership-based, not-for-profit organization, NRCM works to improve the quality of rivers, reduce toxic chemicals threatening human and wildlife health, decrease air pollution, and conserve Maine lands, now and for future generations.
