The Nature Conservancy in Nevada's Len Warren Honored with Wayne E. Kirch Conservation Award

Leonard “Len” Warren has been awarded the prestigious Wayne E. Kirch Conservation Award, given annually by the Nevada Board of Wildlife Commissioners to recipients who have demonstrated significant results towards conservation, management, or enhancement of wildlife. The award is named in memory of Wayne E. Kirch, who passed away in 1989 after serving on the Fish and Game Commission for more than 25 years, the longest tenure on the board since its inception in 1877.

Warren, The Nature Conservancy in Nevada’s (TNC) Amargosa River Project Manager, has served the chapter for almost seven years and was nominated by his colleagues for his passion for conservation, dedication to educating Nevada’s youth and his stewardship of the Amargosa River. In his work for TNC, Warren has helped vastly improve and expand habitat along the river for threatened and endangered bird populations, as well as spearheaded the recent planting of 30,000 trees to help birds and wildlife adapt to climate change. Warren was instrumental in TNC’s 2019 acquisition of 7J Ranch, conserving the Amargosa River’s headwaters, one of the most important biological resources in the desert Southwest. Warren has a has educated and mentored hundreds of urban and rural youth in Nevada to help them experience nature and learn about the wildlife around them. He has also brought awareness about the Screwbean Mesquite tree die-off and has hosted a series of workshops with scientists and partners to address the issue.

Conservation is a second career for Warren, and becoming an ornithologist is his lifelong dream. Warren is a Navy veteran who went on to work in the retail auto business for 30 years, and he said he has studied and tried to get closer to birds his whole life. When the economic crisis of 2008 forced him to find a new vocation, Warren followed his passion from Maine to Death Valley for the one birding job he could find, as a summer nest searcher for Point Blue Conservation Sciences. There he began building his knowledge and expertise of the Amargosa River and the life it supports, and he was later hired by TNC.  

“Since first coming to the Silver State from Maine, Len has grown from being an individual counting birds in Nevada to an individual that creates a future for birds to still be counted,” said John Zablocki, TNC in Nevada’s Strategy Director for Energy and Land Use, who nominated Warren for the award. “Len is as determined as anyone I’ve ever known to make a positive difference not only for Nevada’s wildlife, but in helping people to understand, appreciate and find meaning in wildlife conservation. Over the past decade, I have watched Len turn his visions into reality. He always finds a way to connect and inspire people from all walks of life.”