At the Montana Wildlife Federation’s Annual Meeting on May 14, 2016, the group recognized several Montanans for their achievements in protecting Montana’s wildlife, habitat, and public access to the outdoors. Awardees included Lorry Thomas (Anaconda), John Borgreen (Great Falls), Alex Diekmann (Bozeman), Laura Lundquist (Bozeman) and Alan Charles (Helena).
“Montana’s unmatched conservation legacy is the result of dedicated people from all walks of life who put in long hours fighting for wildlife, habitat, and access to the outdoors” said Tim Aldrich, past president of the Montana Wildlife Federation. “Future generations will be able to experience the outdoor opportunities we enjoy today because of these conservation leaders.”
Lorry Thomas
Montana Conservation Heritage Award
A resident of Anaconda, Lorry Thomas has spent his entire life leading and helping in protecting our public lands, waters and wildlife and assuring public access to these public trust resources for the benefit of future generations. For decades, Lorry has rallied the Anaconda Sportsmen’s Club to fight – and win – for wildlife and public lands. He was a founder of the Coalition for Stream Access and the Coalition for Access to State Lands and has been an influential voice at the Legislature.
John Borgreen
Montana Conservation Heritage Award
John Borgreen has spent a lifetime devoting his knowledge, skills, experience and time to conservation of wildlife, waters, special places and the public’s opportunity to be involved in fair chase hunting and fishing. His obvious appreciation and love of all things wild and free have connected him with a number of organizations whose missions were based on deeply-held conservation values and a commitment to civic engagement.
Alex Diekmann
Les Pengelly Conservation Professional
Alex Diekmann is this year’s recipient of the Less Pengelly Conservation Professional Award. Alex passed away last February. MWF resident Kathy Hadley (left) presents Alex’s son Liam and Alex’s wife Lisa with the award.
As a project manager at the Trust for Public Land, Alex was involved with the conservation of 93,351 acres in Montana with a value of over $168 million and donations of nearly $73 million. Alex’s many projects in Montana and the complexities involved in them demonstrate his amazing abilities to identify strategic landscapes and work with entities to achieve outstanding conservation outcomes for all of us for all time. Alex passed away earlier this year.
Laura Lundquist
Conservation Communicator
A resident of Bozeman, Laura has covered environmental and outdoor issues in Montana as an award-winning newspaper reporter and freelance writer. Laura’s investigation of conservation issues is always thought-provoking and well-documented, educating people about the issues and helping them get involved in the decision-making process.
Alan Charles
Special Achievement in Landowner-Sportsmen Relations
MWF Board Member Tim Aldrich (left) and MWF President Kathy Hadley present Alan Charles (right) with a Special Achievement Award for his tireless efforts to improve relations between landowners and hunters and anglers.
Alan works as the landowner-sportsmen coordinator for the Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Parks, where he facilitates a variety of programs to bridge the divide between these two important communities. Over the years, Alan has worked tirelessly to help form positive relationships between landowners and hunters and find common ground that facilitates much-needed solutions where problems exist.
