NASF 2021 Award recipient named, 2020 awardees recognized, new award name designees announced; all honored for above-and-beyond contributions to the forestry community.
WASHINGTON—After thoughtful review, the National Association of State Foresters Awards Committee has chosen a worthy individual to receive the 2021 NASF Award for their outstanding contributions to state and private forestry.
“Julie Coop, this year’s recipient of the Steve Sinclair Current Achievement Award for Urban and Community Forestry, understands the importance of strategic replanting for healthy and sustainable tree canopy,” said Peter Church, NASF Awards Committee chair and Massachusetts state forester. “Working with landowners and local municipalities, Julie helped to ensure the long-term care of newly planted trees, including through the implementation of training programs for tree wardens. She was also instrumental in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts planting 30,000 trees in urban residential areas—a milestone reached this fall.”
The 2021 NASF Award was announced at the association’s annual meeting alongside the 2020 NASF Award winners, Rae Tamblyn—the recipient of the 2020 Leah MacSwords Current Achievement Award for Communications—and the Georgia Forestry Foundation—the recipient of the 2020 John Shannon Current Achievement Award for Partnerships.
The new NASF Award name designees for 2021 through 2025 were also unveiled at today’s Awards Luncheon. Every five years, the NASF Awards Committee selects a new slate of names for NASF’s current and lifetime achievement awards. The new name designees for the awards are as follows:
- Larry Kotchman Lifetime Achievement Award
- Jim Karels Current Achievement Award for Fire Protection
- Larry Biles Current Achievement Award for Forest Resource Management
- Steve Sinclair Current Achievement Award for Urban and Community Forestry
- Tom Boggus Current Achievement Award for Communications
- Lisa Allen Current Achievement Award for Leadership
- Joe Mafnas Current Achievement Award for Partnerships
- Steve Koehn Current Achievement Award for Forest Public Policy
Earlier in 2021, the NASF Executive Committee approved the renaming of the Bernard L. Orell Award to the John “Chris” Maisch Award. The Maisch Award is typically presented at the NASF Partners Reception in Washington, DC, every December, but may also be awarded at any other NASF-sponsored event. It honors members of Congress, congressional staffers, and other influential players in forestry at the national level.
Media Contact: Whitney Forman-Cook at wforman-cook@stateforesters.org