Individual champion award

This year’s Bob Marshall Award for Individual Champion of Wilderness Stewardship was presented to Jody Matz of the Mt. Hood National Forest. Matz has transformed wilderness stewardship across 1.1 million acres by building a high‑performing team, dramatically improving reporting metrics, and elevating professional development opportunities across disciplines. Her leadership has strengthened partnerships, expanded volunteer engagement, and advanced restoration and recreation projects that directly enhance wilderness character. Matz’s influence extends far beyond metrics. She has become a driving force for wilderness awareness across the agency, organizing large‑scale trainings, field learning experiences, and cross‑disciplinary discussions on fire management, visitor use, and boundary stewardship. Her dedication, innovation, and mentorship have inspired colleagues and partners, making her a standout champion of wilderness stewardship and the well‑deserving recipient of this year’s award.

Group champion award

The Bob Marshall Award for Group Champion of Wilderness Stewardship was awarded to the Rattlesnake Wilderness Dam Removal Project Team from the Lolo National Forest. This multidisciplinary team—including Crystal Stonesifer, Katie Knotek, Kim Smolt, Sydney Bacon, Steve Petesch, Jacob Quinn, Conrad Scheid, Ben Wilson, Robin Connell and others—led the complex decommissioning and restoration of the century‑old McKinley Lake Dam. Their work addressed long‑standing safety hazards while restoring wilderness character in one of the most heavily visited wilderness areas near Missoula, Montana.

The team’s multi‑year effort required exceptional coordination across NEPA analysis, minimum requirements decision‑making, historic preservation consultation and extensive public engagement. Implementation demanded extraordinary field logistics, including the use of explosives as a traditional tool, mule‑supported transport of more than 1,000 pounds of supplies, and hand restoration work that moved over 100 tons of material without mechanized equipment. Their achievement stands as a national model for technical excellence, interagency collaboration and creative stewardship.

The Aldo Leopold Award for Overall Wilderness Stewardship was presented to Jennifer Stagner of the Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre, and Gunnison National Forests. With nearly three decades of experience, Stagner has elevated wilderness stewardship through her deep commitment to data integrity, interdisciplinary coordination, and field‑based management. She has ensured accurate wilderness character monitoring and driven significant gains in wilderness stewardship performance across the forest. Stagner’s leadership is equally evident on the ground. She designed vandal‑resistant boundary signs for high‑impact areas, coordinated partner‑supported solitude monitoring, and led implementation planning for the Blue Lakes Visitor Use Management Plan. Her execution of two wilderness search and rescue MOUs strengthened critical partnerships, and her institutional knowledge—built since 1996—continues to shape wilderness stewardship across the landscape.

The Connie Myers Award for Leadership in Wilderness Education was awarded to Dan Abbe, who recently retired as the Forest Service representative at the Arthur Carhart National Wilderness Training Center. During his five‑year tenure, Abbe became a central force in wilderness education, planning and hosting regional trainings, delivering multiple unit courses annually, and shaping the National Wilderness Leadership Training. His curriculum development, mentorship and field‑based instruction consistently elevated wilderness ethics and professional competence. Abbe’s leadership extended across the agency through his service on the Chief’s Wilderness Advisory Group and his contributions to the Region 1 Northern Rockies Wilderness Skills program. His foundational sessions helped new employees and partners understand wilderness history, philosophy, and modern stewardship challenges. His professionalism, deep knowledge and passion for education have left a lasting imprint on the national wilderness training community. 

The Traditional Skills and Minimum Tool Leadership Award recognized the Region 1 Historic Preservation Team—Cathy Bickenheuser, Jackson Poppen and Gabe Siegel—for their rapid and skilled response to severe windstorm damage at the historic Moose Creek Ranger Station in the Selway‑Bitterroot Wilderness. With trails blocked and access limited to the backcountry airstrip, the team quickly mobilized to stabilize heavily damaged buildings using only traditional tools and onsite materials. Over several days, they completed emergency structural repairs that prevented further deterioration and ensured the site’s stability through winter. They also conducted condition assessments across the administrative complex and developed a prioritized plan for long‑term restoration. Their craftsmanship, adaptability and commitment to traditional skills protected one of the most remote and historically significant administrative sites in the National Forest System.

The Line Officer Wilderness Leadership Award was presented to Mike Muñoz, district ranger on the Helena–Lewis and Clark National Forest. Muñoz has provided decades of exceptional wilderness leadership, serving multiple terms as the lead ranger for the Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex while simultaneously leading the Rocky Mountain Ranger District for more than thirty years. His leadership has strengthened wilderness fire management, outfitter and guide permit administration, grizzly bear recovery, and partnerships with key organizations. As the primary voice of the Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex, Muñoz has ensured coordination across five ranger districts and three forests, led public and internal communications, organized manager meetings and ranger rides, and advocated for the resources needed to steward these nationally significant wilderness areas. His long‑standing dedication reflects his belief that the Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex is a legacy to be protected and passed on to future generations.

The Wilderness Partnership Champion Award honored the Society for Wilderness Stewardship led by Executive Director Heather MacSlarrow. For more than a decade, the society has strengthened federal wilderness stewardship through leadership in the National Wilderness Workshop, wilderness skills training, wilderness stewardship performance, the Chief’s 10‑Year Wilderness Stewardship Challenge, and wilderness character monitoring. Their ability to recruit and support highly capable fellows and Dayens has made them a premier expert organization in wilderness management.

The society’s adaptability and interagency coordination is evident across regions. Under MacSlarrow’s strategic leadership, the society continues to bring innovation, expertise and solution‑oriented collaboration to evolving wilderness challenges.

The Excellence in Research Application Award was presented to the Aldo Leopold Wilderness Research Institute for its project “RAD Decisions in Rad Landscapes.” Led by Kira Hefty and including colleagues Jaclyn Fox Rushing, Christopher Armatas, Lauren Redmore, Kellie Carim, Sean Parks, Katherine Zeller and Olga Helmy, the project helped federal land managers confront irreversible ecological change in designated wilderness. By integrating social and biophysical research, the team developed a novel adaptation planning process and facilitated intensive workshops for four real‑world case studies. Their work equipped managers with practical strategies for applying the Resist–Accept–Direct framework while upholding the Wilderness Act. Outcomes already include a tribal–federal community of practice on whitebark pine conservation, new guidance for minimum requirement analyses, and integration of RAD science into endangered species monitoring. Their applied research, partnerships and national trainings have positioned the Forest Service to make more informed, defensible decisions.

Their work equipped managers with practical strategies for applying the Resist–Accept–Direct framework while upholding the Wilderness Act. Outcomes already include a tribal–federal community of practice on whitebark pine conservation, new guidance for minimum requirement analyses, and integration of RAD science into endangered species monitoring. Their applied research, partnerships and national trainings have positioned the Forest Service to make more informed, defensible decisions.

This award recognizes a Forest Service employee, partner or volunteer who demonstrates excellence in wild and scenic rivers management and addressing needs of the river and surrounding communities. This year’s award went to Russ Miller, Friends of Red River in Kentucky. Known as the "River Cowboy,” Miller organized the first Upper Red River Cleanup in 1996. To date, it is estimated that Miller and the Upper Red River Cleanup have removed an estimated 3,000 to 4,000 tires from the Red River. Miller was featured in “River Cowboys: Keeping it Wild,” a powerful 12-minute film that inspires, educates and reminds us that we have the power to change the world for the better.

This award recognizes river-administering agency staff who have shown outstanding leadership to help manage wild and scenic river, build capacity for river stewardship, and/or develop exemplary training programs for river management professionals.

The first awardee was Jennifer Reed, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service retiree. Throughout her career, Reed demonstrated exceptional leadership in advancing the Fish and Wildlife Service’s Wild and Scenic Rivers Program, both regionally and nationally. Her leadership, vision and collaborative spirit significantly strengthened the agency’s capacity to protect and manage designated rivers, while also building a foundation for long-term stewardship.

The second recipient of this award was Eric Sandeno, Forest Service retiree. Over the course of a 35-year career with the Forest Service, Sandeno consistently demonstrated a commitment to stewarding wild places. He demonstrated tremendous leadership and persistence through his participation on the Interagency Wild and Scenic Rivers Coordinating Council’s Project Review Subcommittee, helping the council navigate through a challenging, multiyear project to provide much-needed updates to technical materials on Section 7 of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act.