2025 LWF Conservation Achievement Award Winners Announced

BATON ROUGE (press release) – The Louisiana Wildlife Federation (LWF) announced the recipients of the 60th Annual LWF Conservation Achievement Awards, honoring individuals and organizations whose work in 2025 significantly advanced conservation and environmental stewardship across the state.

Established in 1965, the awards recognize leadership in protecting Louisiana’s land, water and wildlife. Recipients will be honored at an April 11 banquet.

“We are thrilled to recognize eleven outstanding recipients who demonstrate the leadership and commitment needed to protect Louisiana’s natural resources,” said LWF Executive Director Rebecca Triche. “Their work strengthens our communities, environment and outdoor traditions for future generations to enjoy, too.”

For more information about the Conservation Achievement Awards and the LWF’s work, visit lawildlifefed.org/what-we-do/conservation-awards. Tickets and sponsorships are available.

The 2025 LWF Conservation Achievement Award Winners

• Conservationist of the Year – Louisiana Native Plant Society (Boyce, La.): Recognized for leadership in advancing native plant access, habitat restoration and conservation education across Louisiana through workforce training, habitat certification and advocacy that strengthens ecosystems and supports wildlife.
• Professional Conservationist of the Year – Bryan McClinton (Baton Rouge, La.): As Undersecretary for the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, McClinton led efforts to strengthen conservation policy, modernize regulatory systems, improve wildlife management and expand habitat funding initiatives and access to outdoor recreation.
• Volunteer Conservationist of the Year – Jennifer Richardson (Baton Rouge, La.):  As founder of Keep Tiger Town Beautiful, Richardson is mobilizing community volunteers to remove litter, address illegal dumping and restore public spaces through organized cleanups that protect environmental quality, improve public spaces and prevent waste from entering local waterways.
• Conservation Business of the Year – Life City (New Orleans, La.): Honored for helping businesses adopt environmentally responsible practices through sustainability assessments, technical assistance and partnerships that reduce waste, conserve resources and strengthen the local economy.
• Conservation Educator of the Year – Dr. Erik Johnson (Lafayette, La.): Recognized for his leadership in bird conservation, research and public education across Louisiana, while advancing the protection of vulnerable bird species through field research, bird banding, citizen science initiatives and community outreach.
• Conservation Elected Official of the Year – Representative Kim Landry Coates (Ponchatoula, La.): Honored for steadfast advocacy to protect Lake Maurepas and surrounding watersheds, mobilizing community action and advancing efforts that safeguard water quality, wildlife habitat and the long-term health of the region’s natural resources.
• Conservation Communicator of the Year – Joe Macaluso (Baton Rouge, La.): Honored for decades of reporting that has elevated Louisiana’s hunting, fishing and conservation heritage. Through award-winning journalism and leadership in initiatives such as Hunters for the Hungry, he has championed responsible outdoor recreational use and conservation awareness statewide.
• Conservation Organization of the Year – Audubon Aquarium Rescue (New Orleans, La.): Honored for marine mammal and sea turtle rescue and rehabilitation across Louisiana, providing statewide stranding response, advancing scientific understanding of marine species and strengthening conservation partnerships that protect dolphins, whales, manatees, and sea turtles in Louisiana’s coastal waters.
• Conservation Youth of the Year – Eleanore Lowe (New Orleans, La.): Recognized for exceptional scientific initiative as a high school student, leading research on microplastic pollution in salt and how plastic enters ecosystems and the human food chain.
• Conservation Youth Organization of the Year – St. Joseph’s Academy Coastal Roots Program (Baton Rouge, La.): Recognized for sustaining the LSU Coastal Roots Program at St. Joseph’s Academy, engaging thousands of students in growing native plants and participating in hands-on coastal restoration projects that strengthen Louisiana’s wetlands while cultivating the next generation of environmental stewards.
• Lifetime Achievement – William “Joe” McPherson (Woodworth, La.): Honored for a lifetime of advancing conservation, wildlife habitat protection and public access to outdoor recreation in Louisiana through decades of legislative leadership, public service and advocacy that strengthened the state’s natural resource management and protected critical lands and waters.