Dr. Mark Anderson Receives Kingsbury Browne Conservation Leadership Award
‘His ‘Visionary Climate Work’ Helps Guide Conservation Nationally'
WASHINGTON, D.C. (Oct. 5, 2021) – The Land Trust Alliance, a national land conservation organization working to save the places people need and love by strengthening land conservation across America, today presented Dr. Mark Anderson the distinguished Kingsbury Browne Conservation Leadership Award.
The award, presented virtually during Rally 2021: The National Land Conservation Conference, honors people who have enriched the conservation community with their outstanding leadership, innovation and creativity in land conservation. Named after the conservationist who inspired the Alliance’s founding in 1982, the award ranks among the organization’s highest honors.
Anderson directs The Nature Conservancy’s Center for Resilient Conservation Science, which provides science leadership, ecological analysis and landscape assessments for conservation efforts across all 50 states. For the last decade, he led the effort to identify and map climate resilient lands and waters across the continental United States.
Andrew Bowman, the Alliance’s president and CEO, said Anderson’s work is now used by land trusts throughout the nation to help them identify and secure lands that are and will continue to be resilient to the impacts of climate change.
“For years, Mark has been at the forefront of climate science and how to combine it effectively with ecology,” Bowman said. “For his visionary climate work and his longstanding commitment to the land trust community, we are honored to name Mark this year’s Kingsbury Browne Conservation Leadership Award winner.”
Anderson will serve as the Kingsbury Browne Fellow for the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy for 2021-2022. Kingsbury Browne fellows engage in research, writing and mentoring, and facilitate a project that builds upon and shares their experience with the broader community. Jim Levitt, director of the International Land Conservation Network at the Lincoln Institute, enthusiastically praised the choice of Anderson as the 2021 Kingsbury Browne honoree.
“Mark is a global leader in applying the science of Geographic Information Systems to the art of land conservation,” Levitt said. “His insight has been invaluable in lighting the path forward.”
Jan Glendening, The Nature Conservancy’s Regional Managing Director for North America, also applauded Anderson.
“The resiliency science Mark is leading is a game-changer for the conservation community,” Glendening said. “We now have a roadmap that shows how nature can thrive in the face of climate change.”
The Alliance has awarded the Kingsbury Browne Conservation Leadership Award annually since 2006. It is presented during Rally, the nation’s largest annual gathering of land conservation professionals. More information about Rally, which continues through Oct. 7, is available at alliancerally.org.
About the Land Trust Alliance
Founded in 1982, the Land Trust Alliance is a national land conservation organization that works to save the places people need and love by strengthening land conservation across America. The Alliance represents 1,000 member land trusts supported by more than 200,000 volunteers and 4.6 million members nationwide. The Alliance is based in Washington, D.C., and operates several regional offices. More information about the Alliance is available at www.landtrustalliance.org.
About the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy
The Lincoln Institute of Land Policy seeks to improve quality of life through the effective use, taxation, and stewardship of land. A nonprofit private operating foundation whose origins date to 1946, the Lincoln Institute researches and recommends creative approaches to land as a solution to economic, social, and environmental challenges. Through education, training, publications, and events, we integrate theory and practice to inform public policy decisions worldwide.