October 28, 2015
Troy, NY—Audubon New York is honoring Honeywell with the 2015 Thomas W. Keesee, Jr. Conservation Award on Wednesday, November 4 at the annual Keesee Award Luncheon at the Metropolitan Club in New York City. This year’s event will also honor renowned author, speaker, and conservationist Scott Weidensaul with the inaugural Audubon Award for Environmental Writing.
Honeywell is being presented with the Thomas W. Keesee, Jr. Conservation Award for their leadership in one of the most ambitious environmental reclamation projects in the United States -- the cleanup, restoration and return of Onondaga Lake to the Central New York community as a healthy, sustainable asset for future generations. The Thomas W. Keesee, Jr. Award is Audubon’s highest award for a leader championing conservation in New York. The annual award is named in honor of Thomas W. Keesee, Jr., a long-time advocate of Audubon’s grassroots legacy. A long-time member of the National Audubon Society’s Board of Directors who served as its Chairman from 1979 to 1983, Keesee fostered ground-breaking initiatives in field work, such as the Save the Condor Program in California and the Puffin Project in Maine and held several leadership positions with conservation groups in New York, North Carolina and New Jersey.
“Honeywell and Scott Weidensaul represent the kind of leadership and passion for environmental conservation that we hope inspires others to follow suit,” said Erin Crotty, Executive Director of Audubon New York. “Honeywell made a corporate commitment to the ecosystem of Central New York with the restoration of Onondaga Lake, a vital natural resource and Audubon Important Bird Area. Thanks to ongoing restoration, and with dredging and capping completed a year early, birds and other wildlife are once again thriving along its shores and watershed. Scott has devoted his life’s work to studying, understanding and identifying ways to support birds throughout their entire life-cycle. Through his books and lectures, he inspires millions of people to learn more about birds and guides them along the path of environmental conservation. Audubon New York is proud to honor Honeywell and Scott with this year’s awards.”
“The rebirth of Onondaga Lake, one of Central New York’s most valuable resources, is driven by the vision and spirit of the community and an incredible team of scientists, engineers, individuals, and conservation groups, including Audubon,” said Kate Adams, Senior Vice President and General Counsel. “Water quality is the best it has been in 100 years. We’ve seen the return of more than 166 species of birds, fish, and other wildlife to restored habitat near the lake. Equally as important, there is a renewed community enthusiasm to use and enjoy the lake. Honeywell is honored to receive the Thomas W. Keesee, Jr. Award for dedication to Audubon’s mission on behalf of the Central New York community.”
"I'm honored to be chosen for this new award by Audubon New York, which has such a long and distinguished history of bird conservation,” said Scott Weidensaul. “Understanding and protecting birds, and sharing their beauty and majesty, has been the focus of my writing and my research work for many years, and it means a great deal to be singled out in such a way by an organization I admire so much."
A leader in one of the most ambitious environmental reclamation projects in the United States, Honeywell is working closely with its Central New York partners, including Audubon New York, to return Onondaga Lake to the community as a healthy, sustainable asset for future generations. The result of more than two decades and millions of hours of intensive effort under the supervision of state and federal regulatory agencies, and in cooperation with local elected officials and the community, capping and habitat restoration are scheduled to be finished in 2016. In November 2014, Honeywell completed lake dredging a year ahead of schedule, and in 2015, the lake, which is classified as an Audubon Important Bird Area, was celebrated with a symbolic lake swim attended by hundreds of community members. Since dredging activities began in July 2012, more than 166 species of fish, birds, and mammals have returned to the Onondaga Lake watershed. About 1.1 million plants, shrubs, and trees are being planted as part of habitat restoration efforts and, to date, 50 acres of wetlands have been restored. As a founding partner of the Onondaga Lake Conservation Corps and head of the design and construction of the Onondaga Lake Visitors Center, Honeywell has proven its commitment to serving the local community and regional ecosystem.
Scott Weidensaul is the author of more than two dozen books on natural history, including the Pulitzer Prize finalist “Living on the Wind,” about bird migration, as well as “Return to Wild America,” and “Of a Feather.” His newest book, “The Peterson Reference Guide to Owls of North America and the Caribbean,” was published this month. . He is a contributing editor for Audubon magazine and has written for a wide variety of other publications. Weidensaul is an active field researcher focusing on bird migration. Since 1998, he has overseen one of the largest Saw-whet Owl migration studies in the country, through the Ned Smith Center for Nature and Art in central Pennsylvania, which he helped found. He is a director of Project Owlnet, co-founder of Project SNOWstorm, and one of fewer than 200 licensed hummingbird banders in North America.
The Thomas W. Keesee, Jr. Conservation Award is presented annually by Audubon New York to honor the individual or individuals who have shown remarkable leadership and commitment, particularly in New York State, to Audubon's mission to conserve and restore natural ecosystems, focusing on birds, other wildlife, and their habitats for the benefit of humanity and the earth's biological diversity.
Created in 2015, the Audubon New York Award for Environmental Writing recognizes writers who use the power of the pen to influence positive change in the world of environmental conservation in support of Audubon’s mission. This award recognizes the individual and their body of work and will be presented at the annual Keesee Luncheon in support of Audubon New York’s mission to conserve and restore natural ecosystems, focusing on birds, other wildlife, and their habitats for the benefit of humanity and the earth’s biological diversity.
In addition, support underwrites Audubon New York’s work within the Atlantic Flyway. Audubon’s Strategic Plan: A Road Map for Hemispheric Conservation maximizes our conservation results by focusing on five conservation strategies critical to birds: Putting Working Lands to Work for People and Birds; Saving Our Seas and Shores; Saving Important Birds Areas, including Montezuma, Constitution Marsh, Onondaga Lake, and Long Island Sound; Shaping a Healthy Climate and Clean Energy Future, and Creating Bird-Friendly Communities.
Past recipients of the Thomas W. Keesee, Jr. Conservation Award include: 2014 Alexander E. Zagoreos, 2013 Allison W. Rockefeller, 2012 Virginia K. Stowe, 2012 Margot Ernst, 2011 Toyota, 2011 Carol Browner, 2010 John Flicker, 2009 Constantine Sidamon-Eristoff, 2008 George E. Pataki, 2008 Peter Berle, In Memoriam, 2007 Adrian Benepe, 2007 Carol Ash, 2006 Wendy Paulson, 2004 Marian S. Heiskell, 2003 Samuel F. Pryor III, 2002 John Bierwirth, 2001 Donal O’Brien
The 2015 Keesee Award Luncheon will take place at The Metropolitan Club, from 11:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday, November 4, 2014. Individual tickets start at $350. Sponsorship opportunities remain. Margot Ernst, Lee Gunn Falchi, Sarah Jeffords, Thomas W. Keesee III, Deborah Rivel, Victoria Shaw, Virginia K. Stowe and Alexander Zagoreos are serving as Luncheon Chairs. For more information, please call 518-869-9731 or visit ny.audubon.org.
About Audubon New York: Audubon New York is the state’s leading voice for the conservation and protection of natural resources for birds. Integrating science, conservation, policy and education, Audubon’s mission is to conserve and restore natural ecosystems, focusing on birds, other wildlife, and their habitat for the benefit of humanity and the earth’s biological diversity. With 50,000 members and 27 affiliated chapters state-wide, Audubon New York oversees seven sanctuaries and centers, from Long Island to western New York, and protects priority habitats, including 130 Important Bird Areas identified as critical for the conservation of birds.
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