4/22/02

AU RECEIVING NOMINATIONS FOR MOSLEY ENVIRONMENTAL AWARDS

AUBURN -- Who among your neighbors has done the most to keep Alabama green -- or make it green again? Every county in Alabama has a few people who have taken exceptional steps to protect and enhance our state's woodlands and streams. Yet, with one major exception, these individuals often go unrecognized.

The W. Kelly Mosley Environmental Awards Program at Auburn University annually recognizes 10 to 15 Alabamians for their contributions to the natural environment in the state. Unlike most other environmental awards programs, the Mosley Awards pay special attention to the unsung heroes of the environmental movement -- those individuals who have neither sought nor received widespread acclaim for their work on behalf of the environment.

Another distinguishing feature of the Mosley Awards is that they frequently recognize people who put the land and waterways to productive uses such as environmentally sensitive timber production, hunting and fishing. The awards recognize wise stewardship of the land and not just preservation, says H. Lee Stribling, Mosley Environmental Professor at Auburn.

"These awards for more than 30 years ago have encouraged good stewardship by recognizing those persons who are using the land productively and wisely," said Stribling, who is executive secretary for the Mosley Environmental Awards program.

"Back in the 1950s and '60s, Kelly Mosley saw that many of the people who were the best role models for wise land use in Alabama were not being recognized, even in their own communities. He worked with Auburn and with the John and Mary Franklin Foundation in Atlanta to help ensure that these individuals get the recognition they deserve and that they are put forth as role models to the community," Stribling added.

Mosley, who died in May 2001, was a 1924 graduate of Auburn who was a senior executive for Southern Bell, forerunner of BellSouth, until his retirement in 1963. He devoted his retirement years to philanthropy and environmental education, and he drew support for those causes from his fellow civic and business leaders in Alabama and Georgia. For much of that period, Mosley was chairman of the board of the John and Mary Franklin Foundation, which was named for two longtime friends who shared many of his philanthropic interests.

Following his retirement, Mosley enlisted the advice of Auburn researchers and Alabama Cooperative Extension System specialists as he developed a model forest management system for his farm, "Pineland," in Marengo County. Inspired by the success of that effort, he established several programs at Auburn and statewide to encourage wise land management practices.

As he met others across the state who were successfully combining production and conservation from their timberland and farmland, Mosley noticed that few people received public recognition for their efforts. He enlisted assistance from the Franklin Foundation and AU and ACES faculty to establish the Mosley Environmental Awards in 1979. A select committee presented the first awards the following year.

Each winner receives $500, and each recipient and nominator receives a limited edition print of a commemorative wildlife painting. W. C. Baggett Jr., then an AU art professor, painted the woodland scene in 1983 under commission from Mosley specifically for the awards program.

Award winners are selected by a 12-member committee representing AU faculty and officials from natural resource organizations. Members of the committee present the award to each winner at a special ceremony in the recipient's hometown.

For information or to receive a nomination form, contact Stribling by mail at the School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences, M. White Smith Hall, Auburn University, AL 36849, by e-mail at: stribhl@auburn.edu or by telephone at 334/844-9248.

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CONTACT: Stribling, 334/844-9248.