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You are here: Home / Champions / R. John Dawes

R. John Dawes

01/31/2015

cr_5694DawesJohn Dawes has provided Pennsylvania with environmental and conservation leadership for more than 25 years. He not only works in conservation, but also practices it on his Huntingdon County Farm.

As Executive Director of the Foundation for Pennsylvania Watersheds since 1994, John has supervised small grants to over 300 environmental and watershed associations throughout the state. The intent is to provide seed money to allow a local group to better access state agency funding.

For five years John was a consultant to the Heinz Endowments Environment Program where he supervised grants to regional watershed groups pursuing a DCNR Rivers Conservation Plan. Other duties included participation in sustainable forestry round tables, and the facilitation of a statewide watershed advocacy group called POWR – the PA Organization for Watersheds and Rivers.

Though he has sat on many boards, John is perhaps most fond of his success in the reauthorization of the Abandoned Mine Lands Fund (AMLF). He was relentless in his fight to secure funding to reclaim Pennsylvania’s 5,200 miles of biologically dead streams and 200,000 plus acres of mine-scarred land. The reauthorization provides $6B nationally and more than $1.4B to Pennsylvania.

Since 1970, John has owned and managed a purebred Angus farm in Huntingdon County where conservation practices have been implemented, including streambank fencing, forest stewardship planning, a 10kw windmill for electric power production, and spring development using photo-voltaic panels. In 2007, John earned a Governors Environmental Award for farming excellence and incorporation of Best Management Practices.

The Pennsylvania Land Trust Association (PALTA) honored R. John Dawes of the Foundation for Pennsylvania Watersheds, with the Lifetime Conservation Leadership Award at an awards dinner in Gettysburg on May 9th.

“Only 12 other individuals have received the award,” PALTA Executive Director, Andy Loza, explains, “and we are happy to honor John’s decades of leadership and dedication in conserving Pennsylvania’s special places and landscapes.”

 

Conservation Champions

  • Jim Brett
  • Dennis Collins
  • Ralph “Bud” Cook
  • R. John Dawes
  • Phoebe Driscoll
  • Amos Funk
  • Peter Hausmann
  • Eleanor May Morris
  • William Hart Rufe III
  • Bill Sellers
  • George “Frolic” Weymouth
  • Larry Williamson
  • Barbara Yeaman

People & Projects

  • Part of Brandywine Battlefield Preserved in Westtown Township

    Part of Brandywine Battlefield Preserved in Westtown Township

    Natural Lands announced on October 26, 2020 the permanent protection of nearly 10 acres of land along the fast-developing Route …Read More »
  • Unlikely Partners BalletX and Natural Lands Make Nature Center Stage

    Unlikely Partners BalletX and Natural Lands Make Nature Center Stage

    What does it look like when the regions oldest and largest land conservation organization and Philadelphia’s Premier Contemporary Ballet Company …Read More »
  • Heritage Conservancy Sets Pioneering Example of Partnership and Preservation with Manoff Market Gardens

    Heritage Conservancy Sets Pioneering Example of Partnership and Preservation with Manoff Market Gardens

    Freda R. Savana for Heritage Conservancy It could be said that Gary and Amy Manoff have farming in their blood. …Read More »
  • Berks Nature Closes on a Conservation Easement of Olivet Blue Mountain Camp

    Berks Nature Closes on a Conservation Easement of Olivet Blue Mountain Camp

    On September 30th, 2020, Berks Nature closed on a conservation easement project in the Schuylkill River Watershed, Kittatinny Ridge and …Read More »
  • Fifteen More Acres Protected Forever!

    Fifteen More Acres Protected Forever!

      Article originally published in September 2020 by Willistown Conservation Trust. The final conservation chapter to the 15-acre Stonehedge Farm …Read More »
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WeConservePA envisions future generations enjoying—undiminished—Pennsylvania’s natural areas and open spaces.

Thank you to the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources for supporting the Association’s conservation efforts.

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