Dr. James C. Lewis, retired U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologist, former U.S. Coordinator of whooping crane research and reintroduction activities, and former leader of the U.S. Whooping Crane Recovery Team, received the L. H. Walkinshaw Crane Conservation Award in honor of his decades of achievement including serving as chief editor of 4 of the 8 volumes of the North American Crane Workshops. The award was presented on 14 January 2000 at the Eighth North American Crane Workshop in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Dr. George F. Gee, retired biologist of the USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center and former director of the crane propagation program at Patuxent received the L. H. Walkinshaw Crane Conservation Award in honor of his long-time contribution to the study and conservation of cranes. George has spent more than 30 years conducting research and authored numerous papers on cranes. The award was presented on 25 January 2003 at the Ninth North American Crane Workshop in Sacramento, California.

Stephen A. Nesbitt, avian biologist of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, received the L. H. Walkinshaw Crane Conservation Award in honor of his career spanning more than 30 years of crane research and conservation. Steve is the world authority on the Florida sandhill crane and has authored or coauthored more than 60 publications on cranes. The award was presented on 10 February 2006 at the Tenth North American Crane Workshop in Zacatecas, Mexico.

Ernie Kuyt, retired Canadian Wildlife Service Biologist, received the L. H. Walkinshaw Crane Conservation Award in honor of his long-time contribution to the study and conservation of whooping cranes. Ernie spent 25 years conducting research on whooping cranes on their breeding grounds and has authored over 30 papers including 19 cited in the International Whooping Crane Recovery Plan. The award was presented on 26 September 2008 at the Eleventh North American Crane Workshop in Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin.

Brian Johns, retired Canadian Wildlife Service Biologist. The NACWG presented the L. H. Walkinshaw Award to Brian Johns at the 2011 North American Crane Workshop.  Brian received his Bachelor of Science Advanced degree from the University of Saskatchewan in 1973 and began his career with the Canadian Wildlife Service (CWS) that same year. During his 36 years with CWS, he conducted research on canvasbacks, sandhill cranes, whooping cranes, loggerhead shrikes, and various songbirds in the grasslands, parklands and boreal forests of Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. In the 1980s he was involved with radio-tracking migrant whooping cranes through prairie Canada and investigations of their habitat use. 

Since 1992, Brian has directed the whooping crane field program for CWS and been involved in research and monitoring studies of whooping cranes on the breeding grounds in Wood Buffalo National Park in northern Alberta and along their migratory flyway.  His research has included population monitoring, philopatry, effects of egg collection and the banding of juvenile whooping cranes.  He has also studied potential reintroduction habitat in Saskatchewan and Manitoba and tracked sandhill crane migration routes from those habitats.  Brian logged over 1500 hours of aerial surveys over the crane nesting area and authored over 20 publications.

Professional contributions beyond the field include serving as chair of the National Loggerhead Shrike Recovery Team and Canadian Whooping Crane Coordinator, and co-chairing the Canada/United States Whooping Crane Recovery Team since 2003.  Brian was a primary force in getting the whooping crane recovery plan updated and approved in 2007 and has started efforts to get Critical Habitat declared in Canada.  In recognition for his work, he has received Nature Saskatchewan’s Conservation Award and the Whooping Crane Conservation Association’s Honor Award and the Jerome Pratt Whooping Crane Award.

Brian Johns is known for his tremendous knowledge of whooping cranes, his birding skills, and his friendship to all he has met and worked with.  He has used all his skills to promote the recovery of the whooping crane to which he is completely dedicated.   Brian retired from CWS in October 2009 and he is probably already missed.