The Awards Committee of the North American Crane Working Group is accepting nominations for three separate career achievement awards. Winners will be selected by a voting committee and presented awards at the forthcoming 17th North American Crane Workshop to be held in December of 2026 in Rockport, Texas. Nominations will be taken for the following awards from 1 May to 31 July 2026.

L. H. Walkinshaw Crane Conservation Award

The Proceedings of the First International Crane Workshop were dedicated to Dr. L. H. Walkinshaw as "The Father of International Studies of Gruiformes." He was a mentor to succeeding generations of crane researchers. This award recognizes the outstanding crane biologists following in his footsteps. Criteria for this award include long-term involvement with conservation of cranes through research, management, education, or application of biological principles to the preservation of cranes in North America. This is our top-tier achievement award.

Paul J. Currier Habitat Conservation Award

This new award honors the life and legacy of Dr. Paul. J. Currier, who completed his doctoral dissertation on the floodplain vegetation of the Platte River and dedicated the rest of his life to adaptive management of that system for the benefit of cranes, other waterbirds, and wetland vegetation, until his untimely death from a heart condition in 2005. He served as the vegetation ecologist and then Executive Director of the Crane Trust for 23 years. He was a pioneer in using heavy machinery to mimic flood pulses to maintain crane habitat and was involved in early efforts to restore hydrologically functional wet meadows. This award is intended for habitat managers and land conservation practitioners working across crane species' ranges at multiple scales and in diverse roles, including those managing national wildlife refuges, state wildlife management areas, land trusts, private lands, and nonprofit conservation organizations.

George Archibald Special Achievement Award

This award is intended to recognize professionals who have dedicated a significant portion of their life to crane conservation through research, adaptive management, policy, education and outreach, and habitat conservation. This award recognizes those that have made a significant contribution over a period of 15 years or more.

Nomination Process

Nominations should be submitted to the Awards Committee via email at nacwg.board@gmail.com and include an attached 1-page nomination letter that clearly outlines the nominee's achievements and contributions to crane conservation. This letter should describe the individual's impacts regarding crane conservation including applied research, policy, population conservation, habitat management, community outreach, and/or education. The letter should be tailored to the specific objectives of the award to which the candidate is nominated by a third party - no self-nominations are permitted. Additional context is encouraged, including the nominee's professional background, major challenges overcome, experience mentoring others, and demonstration of ability to collaborate across organizations and stakeholders. Submissions must also include the nominee's contact information and may include supporting materials such as publications or reports as attachments. Letters of support from multiple peers and colleagues are also encouraged as attachments. Nominations will be accepted from 1 May to 31 July 2026. Please feel free to reach out to the Awards Committee with any questions.