Nature Conservancy to honor Austin conservationists during 13th annual Conservation Leadership Awards Luncheon on Oct. 4

Charlie Robison will provide entertainment for the event

AUSTIN, TEXAS — September 18, 2007 — Mike and Pam Reese of Austin are pioneers of conservation. They may be the first private individuals ever to buy natural land in danger of development in order to re-sell it with permanent restrictions attached that will protect the land’s conservation value forever.

For Susan Rieff, also of Austin, preserving the natural world is a life’s work. She has directed environmental policy and legislation at state and federal levels, spearheaded large-scale multi-agency environmental projects and coordinated national conservation actions and initiatives.

The Reeses and Rieff will be recognized Oct. 4 during The Nature Conservancy’s 13th-annual Conservation Leadership Awards Luncheon. The Reeses will be presented with a Conservation Leadership Award. Susan Rieff, executive director of the Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center, will be honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award during the event.

The Conservation Leadership Award recognizes those whose leadership sets an outstanding example to others in the community through land conservation, restoration, compatible development, environmental responsibility, environmental policy, public involvement and education, financial contribution and/or in-kind donation. The Lifetime Achievement Award is presented to recognize an individual who has made a remarkable lifelong commitment to conserving Texas’ irreplaceable natural heritage. This award is not bestowed annually, but only when an individual’s achievements warrant recognition.

Co-sponsored by the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce and the Austin American-Statesman with the theme “Wide Open Spaces,” the awards luncheon will take place from 11 to 1 p.m. Oct. 4 in the Hilton Downtown Austin, 500 E. Fourth Street. Philanthropists Bettye and Bill Nowlin are event chairpersons. Carter Smith, The Nature Conservancy’s Texas state director, will provide the keynote address.

Texas singer-songwriter Charlie Robison will provide entertainment for the event. Robison, whose music is described as part country-part rock, is known for saying what’s on his mind and has a reputation as a maverick in the country music industry.

“The Nature Conservancy is delighted for the opportunity to recognize the conservation ethic of Susan Rieff and Pam and Mike Reese at our annual awards luncheon,” said Bob Benson, the organization’s Austin philanthropy director. “These individuals provide tremendous inspiration to all of us who are committed to conserving the unique ecological riches of Austin and the Hill Country.”

The Reeses are co-founders of the grassroots conservation group the Hill Country Alliance and have donated funds to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department to help offset state funding shortfalls for state park maintenance. Pam Reese serves as a member of the board of the Westcave Preserve. They own a home and property along the Pedernales River, and have been major supporters of the Conservancy’s Pedernales River conservation work with other private landowners on the river.

In 2006, when the Reeses learned that a 2,600-acre ranch along the river had been bought by developers and was to become a major housing development, they convinced the developers to sell the land to them and another couple instead. Now, they are looking for conservation buyers for the land – people willing to buy it with permanent conservation easements or deed restrictions in place to permanently prevent development.

Organizations such as The Nature Conservancy regularly use conservation-buyer programs to protect ecologically significant land, but Conservancy staff members are not aware of individuals doing so other than the Reeses.

Susan K. Rieff, executive director of the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center since 2004, began her conservation career when she was named by U.S. Senator Dale Bumpers of Arkansas to serve as a legislative assistant in charge of environmental and natural resources legislation.

She was the first director of resource protection for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and also served as assistant commissioner of the Texas Department of Agriculture. Former Texas Governor Ann Richards appointed Rieff to be her director of environmental policy. Rieff also served as deputy chief of staff for the U.S. Department of the Interior in Washington, D.C., and as the policy director for land stewardship for the National Wildlife Federation.

As leader of the Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center, Rieff oversees landscape restoration program, plant conservation work and professional and family education programs. She also directs the center’s participation in the Millennium Seed Bank, a global conservation project aimed at safeguarding 24,000 threatened plant species by the year 2010. Additionally, she is a part-time visiting professor at the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas, where she teaches seminars in environmental policy.

The luncheon is nearly sold out. Eighty-four sponsors have signed on and 900 attendees are expected. Individual tickets cost $150 and tables for 10 begin at $2,500. Call (512) 494-9559, Ext. 103, to learn more.

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The Nature Conservancy is the leading conservation organization working to protect the most ecologically important lands and waters around the world for nature and people. To date, the Conservancy and its more than one million members have been responsible for the protection of more than 15 million acres in the United States and have helped preserve more than 102 million acres in Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific. Visit The Nature Conservancy on the Web at nature.org. In the Lone Star State, The Nature Conservancy of Texas owns more than 30 nature preserves and conservation projects and assists private landowners to conserve their land through more than 80 voluntary land-preservation agreements. The Nature Conservancy of Texas protects 250,000 acres of wild lands and, with partners, has conserved 750,000 acres for wildlife habitat across the state. Visit The Nature Conservancy of Texas on the Web at nature.org/texas.