By Carol Beidleman, Partners in Flight Awards Committee Chair
On March 26, 2024, at the North American Wildlife and Natural Resources Conference, Valerie Stein Foster, Interim PIF U.S. Coordinator (center; U.S. Forest Service), presented 2023 PIF Awards to Michael Rizo (to her left, with Red-winged Blackbird) and Jim Chu (to her right, with Bobolink), with congratulations by long-time PIF’ers John Alexander (far left; Klamath Bird Observatory) and Geoff Geupel (far right; Point Blue Conservation Science).
Through the Partners in Flight (PIF) Awards, PIF has been recognizing outstanding individuals and groups across the Americas for their exceptional contributions to the field of landbird conservation since 1996. We were pleased to have five 2023 PIF Award winners including from Puerto Rico and Mexico.
All awardees were first recognized through a PowerPoint presentation given by Valerie Foster Stein (U.S. Forest Service; USFS), Interim PIF U.S. Coordinator, during the March 2024 North American Wildlife and Natural Resources Conference in Michigan, at the Forest Service Partners Meeting and Partners in Flight Awards venue. Two of the awardees, both with USFS (one current, and one retired), were able to attend to receive their awards in person in front of their peers.
Michael Rizo, Social Science Advisor for the USFS Office of International Programs, was selected to receive an Individual PIF Public Awareness Award for working to raise awareness of birds and their conservation in diverse urban communities in the U.S. and Mexico. Jim Chu, Natural Resource Specialist (retired) for the Migratory Species Program, USFS Office of International Programs, was selected to receive an Individual PIF David N. Pashley Lifetime Achievement Award for his two decades of full life-cycle grassland bird conservation across the Western Hemisphere.
Said Valerie afterward, “It was an honor to present this year’s PIF awards to such an accomplished group of individuals. Having Jim and Mike both present in Grand Rapids to receive their awards in person was especially memorable, and I so enjoyed meeting them both and learning more about their fantastic work over the years with the USFS and PIF.”
On April 4, 2024, at the Gulf Coast Joint Venture Management Board Meeting in Houma, Louisiana, EJ Williams (American Bird Conservancy) presented a PIF Leadership Award to William Vermillion, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (right).
Another 2023 PIF Awardee, William (Bill) Vermillion, was recognized in a ceremony at the Gulf Coast Joint Venture (GCJV) Management Board Meeting in Houma, Louisiana in April 2024. Bill, a Bird Conservation Specialist with the GCJV, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, was selected to receive an Individual PIF Leadership Award for a career of contributions to landbird conservation through partnerships from Texas through Alabama.
Several GCJV Management Board members and staff effectively conspired to surprise and honor Bill in front of many of his peers, with a presentation given on behalf of PIF by EJ Williams, American Bird Conservancy. With his typical humility, Bill’s comments deflected his achievements and emphasized the substantial work that remains to ensure sustainable populations of priority landbirds within the Gulf Coast geography.
We congratulate Michael Rizo, Jim Chu, and Bill Vermillion on their PIF Awards, and thank Valerie and EJ for making these celebratory occasions possible.
Please visit the Partners in Flight website to read more about the important contributions to bird conservation made by these and other 2023 awardees, with gratitude to the USFS for its ongoing sponsorship of the PIF Awards.