Anchorage, Alaska, July, 27 2026 – Alaska Conservation Foundation is proud to announce the 2026 recipients of the Alaska Conservation Achievement Awards, a yearly tradition that uplifts those working to ensure Alaska’s lands, waters, and communities remain resilient for generations to come.
This year’s honorees include a Tribal government that has spent five decades rebuilding cultural sovereignty in the face of resource extraction and forced assimilation, a wildlife cinematographer whose work has reached audiences on National Geographic and the BBC, and lifelong advocates whose careers span policy, land protection, science, and grassroots organizing across the state.
“These awardees represent the heart of Alaska’s conservation movement, people who lead with integrity, curiosity, and an unwavering commitment to the places and communities that define our state,” said Michael Barber, President and Chief Executive Officer of Alaska Conservation Foundation. “Each of them reminds us that conservation is not a single path, but a collective journey, carried forward by teachers, artists, organizers, and decision-makers alike.”
The awardees will be honored at the 2026 Conservation Achievement Awards Ceremony on September 24, at 6 PM at the Anchorage Museum. The evening will gather conservation leaders, partners, and supporters to celebrate the honorees and reflect on the work ahead. Join us, along with your friends and colleagues, in celebrating these remarkable individuals and honoring the entire Alaska conservation community.
Meet the 2026 Awardees
Lifetime Achievement Awards:
Joel Bennett – A wildlife attorney and advocate since coming to Alaska in 1968, Bennett helped craft early state legislation on wildlife and the environment and served 13 years on the Alaska Board of Game under four governors. As Defenders of Wildlife’s first Alaska representative from 1996 to 2003, he led the citizen’s initiative that prohibited aerial wolf hunting by the public and later represented the Alaska Wildlife Alliance in litigation that struck down a brown bear predator control program as unconstitutional. A wildlife photographer and filmmaker, he has directed more than 27 films for television and written two award-winning children’s books on Alaska wildlife.
Tim Troll – Troll came to Alaska in 1978 as a VISTA volunteer lawyer in Bethel, later settling in the Yup’ik village of St. Marys and then Dillingham in Bristol Bay. While in Dillingham, he initiated the founding of the Bristol Bay Heritage Land Trust, which has since conserved 92,040 acres of private land, including acreage in Wood-Tikchik State Park and habitat protecting a rare population of freshwater harbor seals on Lake Iliamna. With Ekwok Tribal Chief Luki Akelkok, he also started the Bristol Bay Fly Fishing & Guide Academy, which has introduced more than 200 youth to fly fishing, guiding, and conservation since 2008.
Olaus Murie Award for Outstanding Professional Contributions:
Sue Mauger – In the 26 years since she arrived in Alaska, Mauger has studied climate and land-use change in wild salmon streams, working to connect research with public policy and decision making. As Cook Inletkeeper’s Science Director and later Executive Director, she helped establish statewide protocols for water temperature monitoring, led a regional effort to collect decades of stream temperature data across Cook Inlet, and published the first regional assessment projecting Cook Inlet stream temperatures through 2060. She also collaborated on a study providing the first evidence linking Chinook salmon declines to climate-driven habitat change.
Celia Hunter Award for Outstanding Volunteer Contributions:
Lou Brown – Brown arrived in Fairbanks from California in 1988 and spent much of her working life writing grant proposals and raising funds for nonprofits serving the deaf community, low-income housing, the environment, and Alaska Native education. She served six years on the board of Fairbanks’ women’s shelter and eight years on the board of the Northern Alaska Environmental Center, and her current advocacy is with Save Our Domes, supporting property owners protecting their homes from the impacts of mining. An avid outdoorswoman, she has paddled remote rivers in Guyana and Prince William Sound and, at 74, still skis, hikes, kayaks, and gardens.
Denny Wilcher Award for Young Environmental Activists:
Izzy Brown – Raised in Denali National Park and Preserve, Brown has carried a lifelong connection to the land into her advocacy work with Alaska Youth for Environmental Action (AYEA), where she has built a network of peers taking action for the future of their communities. She has presented at the Alaska Forum and served as a featured speaker at the Alaska Natural Resource & Outdoor Education Association. Brown describes herself as a local environmentalist, dedicated steward, passionate educator, and inspired researcher, and says she is grateful to hear the many stories of why individuals’ lands matter to them.
Lowell Thomas Jr. Award for Outstanding Achievements by an Organization Doing Conservation Work:
Alaska Wilderness Alliance – Founded in 1978, the Alaska Wilderness Alliance is dedicated to protecting Alaska’s wildlife for its intrinsic value and for the benefit of present and future generations. The organization advocates for healthy ecosystems that are scientifically and ethically managed, working to protect the state’s wildlife amid an increasingly dynamic world. The Alliance attends Board of Game and Board of Fish meetings each year to advocate for science-based wildlife management, takes legal action to defend critical habitat and hold agencies accountable, and works to recover Alaska’s threatened and endangered species, which include 13 endangered and 8 threatened species statewide.
Jerry S. Dixon Award for Excellence in Environmental Education:
Lauren Bien – As Education Director at the Prince William Sound Science Center in Cordova, Bien works alongside enthusiastic educators, lifelong learners, and committed community partners. Her academic background is in biology and marine science, but experiential education and conservation are her true passions. Drawing on her scientific training and the knowledge of community partners, she brings scientific depth and a sense of wonder into immersive education programs, using the Chugach National Forest as a living classroom.
Daniel Housberg Wilderness Image Award for Excellence in Still Photography, Film or Video:
Erin Ranney – A wildlife cinematographer specializing in behavioral filming, remote fieldwork, and deep sea video engineering, Ranney’s footage has appeared on National Geographic, BBC, PBS, and Smithsonian programs. She has filmed extensively in Alaska over the past decade, including a personal project following her family’s stories as the state’s landscape, climate, and wildlife have changed. Drawing on her family’s background in commercial fishing, she focuses on community-based conservation solutions and has contributed to campaigns including efforts opposing the proposed Pebble Mine. She co-founded and chairs the Wildlife Cinematographer Diversity Fund.
Caleb Pungowiyi Award for Outstanding Achievements by an Alaska Native Organization or Individual:
Chickaloon Traditional Council – Nay’dini’aa Na’, an Ahtna Athabascan Tribe based in Sutton, has occupied the Chickaloon area for 10,000 years and was among the first Alaska Tribes affected by outside resource development, including mining, oil and gas drilling, and logging, as well as the forced removal of children to assimilation-era boarding schools. In response to these injustices and the passage of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971, Tribal Elders re-established the Chickaloon Village Traditional Council in 1973 to restore traditional Athabascan culture, language, and spirituality and to reunify Tribal citizens. The Tribe gained federal recognition that same year and continues to govern through a nine-member Traditional Council.
About the Awards
First launched in 1986, the Alaska Conservation Achievement Awards recognize individuals and organizations making extraordinary contributions to the protection of Alaska’s environment and cultural heritage. Award categories honor lifetime service, grassroots leadership, environmental education, media, youth activism, and professional conservation efforts.
Join Us
The 2026 Conservation Achievement Awards Ceremony will be held on September 24, 2026 6-9pm at the Anchorage Museum. More info and tickets coming soon!
Media Contact:
Sophie Komornicki
Director of Communications & Storytelling
