NC is partnering with the Sand County Foundation, a Wisconsin conservation group, to help sponsor the foundation’s first Aldo Leopold Conservation Award in the state. The news was announced at NC’s Midyear Conference in June at Holdrege.

Nominations are due Aug. 18 for the $10,000 prize, which goes to a Nebraska landowner who demonstrates responsible stewardship and management of natural resources.

Given in honor of Aldo Leopold, the award recognizes extraordinary achievement in voluntary conservation. In his book, A Sand County Almanac (1949), Leopold called for an ethical relationship between people and the land they own and manage, which he called “an evolutionary possibility and an ecological necessity.” This year, the foundation will present similar awards in Wisconsin, Wyoming, Colorado, Texas and California.

“The land ethic Aldo Leopold described is alive and well today in Nebraska,” says NC executive vice president Michael Kelsey. “From managing native prairie to restoring habitat, Nebraska private landowners produce much more than beef. They produce important grassland bird habitats and clean water, as well. Nebraska cattle producers contribute to a healthy environment and a healthy economy every day.”

Sand County Foundation is a private, non-profit conservation group dedicated to working with private landowners to improve habitat. Sand County’s mission is to advance the use of ethical and scientifically sound land management practices and partnerships for the benefit of people and their rural landscapes. The foundation works with private landowners because the majority of the nation’s fish, wildlife and natural resources are found on private lands.

Sand County Foundation places incentives before regulation, and encourages the exercise of private responsibility in the pursuit of improved land health.

“We’re proud to bring the Leopold Conservation Award to Nebraska in partnership with Nebraska Cattlemen to honor voluntary conservation work of private landowners in the Cornhusker State,” said foundation president Brent Haglund. “Nebraska has abundant natural resources, a strong agricultural sector and a rich tradition of private lands conservation.”

The awards are presented to accomplish three objectives: First, they recognize exemplary private landowners and their extraordinary achievements in voluntary conservation. Second, they inspire countless other landowners in their own communities through these examples. Finally, they provide a visible forum where leaders from the agriculture community are recognized as conservation leaders to groups outside of agriculture.

The winner of the 2006 Nebraska Leopold Conservation Award will be selected by a varied panel of judges that will include representatives from the Nebraska Environmental Trust, Nebraska Department of Agriculture and other organizations. The first annual award will be presented Nov. 29 at NC’s annual convention in Lincoln.

In addition to a $10,000 check, the award consists of a crystal depiction of Aldo Leopold seated on a horse.

For more information, visit www.leopoldconservationaward.org, email mfitzgerald@necattlemen.org or call (402) 475-2333.