A local conservationist will grab a prestigious national award tomorrow (Aug. 14) for his work in communities around Cincinnati’s Mill Creek.
Mill Creek Alliance’s Tanner Yess will be recognized with the Murie Spirit of Conservation Rising Leader Award at a ceremony at the Murie Ranch in Moose, Wyoming. Longtime conservationist and author Bert Raynes of Wyoming will also receive a Murie award.
Past recipients have included actor Harrison Ford for his work on environmental documentaries and Sally Jewell, U.S. Secretary of the Interior under President Barack Obama.
The Murie Ranch is overseen by Teton Science Schools, a 50-year-old conservation education nonprofit started by science teacher Ted Major that now has five campuses around the Grand Tetons in Wyoming and Idaho and teaches roughly 15,000 people a year about conservation science and related subjects.
The ranch is named after Mardy and Olaus Murie and Adolph and Louise Murie, two husband-and-wife teams who helped lay the groundwork for the modern conservation movement through scientific research and advocacy. The award celebrates that legacy.
“The Murie Spirit of Conservation Award dinner is a celebration of conservation leadership,” a news release about the award says. “The Murie Ranch of Teton Science Schools honors individuals who have demonstrated an exemplary commitment to the protection of wildlife and wild places. Each year, this award recognizes a person whose life work demonstrates a commitment to conservation, civility and community.”
Yess will be honored for his work with the Alliance’s Green Team and Green Corps, as well as other efforts.
The Green Team (for students under 18) and Green Corps (for youth 18 to 24) engage participants in conservation efforts around the Mill Creek, providing jobs and educational opportunities for young people in Cincinnati. The initiative was launched by Groundwork Cincinnati — Mill Creek before the organization merged this year with the Mill Creek Watershed Council of Communities to become the Mill Creek Alliance. Yess, who received his undergraduate degree from Northern Kentucky University and his master's in community planning from the University of Cincinnati, has played a pivotal role overseeing the Green Team and Green Corps programs during his three and a half years with the nonprofit. CityBeat featured Yess and Green Corps member Iyah Brown in a recent feature about local efforts to revitalize the Mill Creek and the challenges that remain for the waterway running through the heart of Cincinnati.
