INHF president wins national award

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This article first appeared in INHF's Fall 2007 magazine.

Photos by Francesca Dalleo/LTA and Neil Hamilton

Above, INHF President Mark Ackelson (left) accepts the Kingsbury Browne Conservation Leadership Award from Rand Wentworth, president of the Land Trust Alliance. Below, INHF staff and board members support Ackelson at the conference.

Mark Ackelson, INHF president, has been honored for his Iowa and nationwide conservation legacy with a national award and fellowship.

Mark received the Kingsbury Browne Conservation Leadership Award at the Land Trust Alliance’s annual conference on Oct. 4 in Denver. This is the Land Trust Alliance’s “signature award, given annually to honor outstanding leadership, innovation and creativity in land conservation. The award celebrates individuals whose leadership has enriched the entire conservation community.”

The award includes a one-year fellowship at the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, a Cambridge-based think tank with a focus on land policy. The fellowship allows Mark to share his conservation wisdom by writing, researching and teaching on a subject related to land conservation.

Mark joined INHF in 1980 and became president in 1994. While Mark’s legacy to Iowa conservation is considerable, he’s had a national impact as well. He helped found the Iowa Environmental Council, the Resource Enhancement and Protection (REAP) Alliance, Mississippi River Blufflands Alliance and Land Trust Alliance—and has held leadership positions in each. He also recently chaired the national Rails-to-Trails Conservancy board.

“I am proud to be a part of a profession and movement that helps protect the environment while also enriching people’s lives,” Ackelson says.  “We talk about land, but really our work is about the people and communities that we work with to accomplish our shared goals.”

For more information, e-mail Cathy Engstrom, Director of Communications, or call (515) 288-1846.