Conservationist of the Year
Conservationist of the Year Award
The Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority (ABCA) has presented the Conservationist of the Year Award since 1984 to recognize significant conservation efforts.
In 2026, ABCA's 80th anniversary year, we are again pleased to present this award.
Ausable Bayfield Conservation plants a tree and installs a plaque at a Commemorative Woods site maintained by the Ausable Bayfield Conservation Foundation.
Individuals, organizations or companies who have completed conservation work within the ABCA region, can be nominated for the Conservationist of the Year Award. Current ABCA staff members and directors are excluded.
The Conservation Award acknowledges one individual or group per year who demonstrates positive conservation principles. The nominee must have undertaken conservation efforts over a number of years that have shown long-term benefits for the natural environment and society.
Examples of conservation work that protects soil, water, and living things, include:
- Improving local water quality
- Conservation farming
- Reforestation
- Environmental education
- Providing wildlife and fish habitat
- Promoting environmental awareness and action
Nomination Form
Nominations have now closed. Thanks go to all the wonderful nominators and all the amazing nominees!
The form is available in alternate formats upon request.
Please send the nomination form prior to the deadline to:
Tim Cumming, Communications Coordinator,
Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority (ABCA), 71108 Morrison Line,
RR 3 Exeter, ON N0M 1S5 at tcumming@abca.ca ... Facsimile: 519.235.1963
Inquiries
Please contact Communications Coordinator Tim Cumming or 519-235-2610, or toll-free 1-888-286-2610, extension 248 for additional information about the awards.
Partner Appreciation Evening
Ausable Bayfield Conservation hosts the annual Partner Appreciation Evening on Thursday, March 26, 2026.
Please reply/RSVP by March 19, 2026 if you would like to attend. Seating is limited.
Download poster for Partner Appreciation Evening 2026 – 500 KB (medium-sized) PDF file
Here are some details about the event:
Biologist with Fisheries and Oceans Canada to present on partnership work helping with recovery of fish, mussel populations in nationally important Ausable River
Species at Risk Biologist Shawn Staton, Team Leader for Ontario with the Species at Risk Program of Fisheries and Oceans Canada, is to speak at ABCA Partner Appreciation Evening about work in partnership for recovery of aquatic species at risk in the nationally significant Ausable River watershed
Aquatic Species at Risk Recovery in the Ausable River Watershed: The Power of Partnerships is the presentation topic at the annual Partner Appreciation Evening hosted by Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority (ABCA) on Thursday, March 26, 2026.
The keynote presenter is Shawn Staton, Team Leader for Ontario with the Species at Risk Program of Fisheries and Oceans Canada. “The Ausable River is home to an incredible diversity of rare fish and freshwater mussels,” he said. “I am excited and honoured to share my experiences partnering with the ABCA in the ongoing work to recover aquatic species at risk within this nationally significant watershed.”
Since 2003, Shawn Staton has been working for Fisheries and Oceans Canada as a Species at Risk Biologist, leading the development and implementation of recovery programs for fish and mussel species at risk. He has a BSc in Biology from the University of Guelph. He has been working as an aquatic biologist for more than 25 years. He knows the Ausable River well and is co-author of the Action Plan for the Ausable River: An Ecosystem Approach (written along with Ausable Bayfield Conservation’s Kari Jean and Mari Veliz).
The Ausable River Action Plan document outlines detailed steps to protect populations of the Northern Riffleshell; Snuffbox; Kidneyshell; Mapleleaf; Rainbow; Lake Chubsucker; Pugnose Shiner; and Eastern Sand Darter species in the Ausable River in Canada.
The Ausable River Action Plan is available on a web page of the Government of Canada's Canada.ca website.
The partner appreciation event takes place at Ironwood Golf Club. Ironwood Golf Club is located at 70969 Morrison Line, two kilometres east of Exeter, south of Highway 83. It is free to attend the Partner Appreciation Evening but seating is limited and interested people are asked to reserve one week ahead of the event.
There is a complimentary, light supper served at the Partner Appreciation Evening. To attend the event, please reply, to ABCA, by Thursday, March 19, 2026, for meal numbers. You may reply/RSVP to Corporate Services Assistant Micaela Lubberts. She can be reached by email (mlubberts@abca.ca) or by phone at 519-235-2610, or toll-free 1-888-286-2610, extension 221. (You are asked to let organizers know if you have dietary restrictions).
Ausable Bayfield Conservation will announce the Conservationist of the Year Award winner at the March 26 event. There will also be years of service awards for Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority directors and staff.
To find out more about the Partner Appreciation Evening visit the abca.ca website and the Conservation Award web page link.