The NAA awards the George B. Fell Lifetime Achievement Award to an individual who exhibits the highest qualities of the profession and has significantly advanced natural area identification, protection, stewardship or research, and the mission of the NAA. This award is the Association's highest and is reserved for exceptional achievements.
Due to COVID-19, the NAA could not award the 2020 recipient, Thomas Foti, Ecologist Emeritus and retired Senior Ecologist at the Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission. Foti has worked to understand, interpret, protect, and restore Arkansas' natural heritage for over five decades. Tom was instrumental in bringing management to natural areas in Arkansas, convincing skeptical colleagues and administrators that prairies need fire, overstocked woodlands need thinning, and invasive species need removal. Tom has a bold vision and always has creative solutions to complex conservation problems.
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