Maintenance of the productivity and sustainability of fisheries resources is dependent on the maintenance of high quality aquatic habitats. In spite of the importance of maintaining water quality conditions and other habitat features within acceptable limits, a variety of land use activities have resulted in the degradation of aquatic habitats throughout western North America. As a result of habitat degradation and other factors, many populations of native fish are in decline. In certain circumstances, these declines have been so precipitous that affected fish populations have been listed as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act (U.S.) or the Species At Risk Act (Canada). In many cases, recovery of these fish populations to sustainable levels will require concerted efforts to restore degraded aquatic habitats and address the other factors that are contributing to the decline of native fish populations.

While many groups are actively working toward fisheries restoration goals, Ted Turner and the Turner Foundation stand out for several reasons. First, Ted Turner established the Turner Foundation in 1990 with a vision toward the preservation and conservation of the environment around the world. Ted believes in this endeavor to protect, conserve, and restore the environment so emphatically that he views it as no less than “an effort to ensure the survival of the human species.” Since its inception, the Foundation has given nearly $180 million dollars (through 2001) to support efforts in four major arenas, including: clean water and toxics reduction; clean air through improved energy efficiency and renewables; wildlife habitat protection; and the development of equitable practices and policies designed to reduce population growth rates. The Foundation is committed to preventing further and restoring damage already incurred to our natural systems on which all life depends. This mission includes supporting a broad range of organizations and approaches, including advocacy, organizing, public education, and hands on conservation work. Groups receiving funding for aquatics restoration and conservation include national organizations such as Trout Unlimited, the Nature Conservancy, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, the Sierra Club, and the National Forest Protection Alliance, as well as numerous regional environmental and conservation organizations such as American Wildlands, Amigos Bravos, Oregon Trout, and the Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative. Many local watershed groups working to preserve and restore riparian habitat, and land trusts working to preserve open space are also funded. In 2001 alone over $69 million was granted to 675 different groups or projects. It is apparent based on the diverse nature of the groups and activities funded that Ted’s vision, as framed by the foundation, is to enhance the global environment by assisting many different, and sometimes opposing, organizations, all with a common goal of improving and protecting the ecosystems upon which biological function depends.

In addition to the grant making foundation, Ted has amassed nearly two million acres of primarily undeveloped land with the goal of allowing these properties to function as naturally as possible. The lands are managed by the corporate entity, Turner Enterprise, Inc., (TEI) which has a mission of “to manage Turner lands in an economically sustainable and ecologically sensitive manner while promoting the conservation of native species.” Ted also established the Turner Endangered Species Fund (TESF), which focuses on conserving biological diversity by ensuring the persistence of imperiled species and their habitats, to work with TEI on restoring and conserving sensitive and endangered species that naturally occurred on or currently occupy Turner properties, as well as adjacent lands. An overarching goal of both these organizations is to encourage, by example, other private landowners to embrace imperiled species conservation and restoration of complete ecosystems. A stable of biologists employed by TEI and TESF are working on restoring instream, riparian, and upland habitats, and enhancing or reintroducing species such as cutthroat trout, black-footed ferrets, swift fox, and alpamodo falcons. Guiding this work are four main objectives: the conservation and restoration of native, imperiled, and endangered species and their habitats; development of long-term working relationships with federal, state, and other non-governmental organizations to further conservation of imperiled species; to conduct scientifically credible research regarding conservation and management of imperiled species; and to work with and educate other private landowners regarding conservation issues. Additionally, through these enterprises Ted and his employees have supported, on his properties, national conservation programs (such as wolf restoration in the Rocky Mountains), independent research, and education of schoolchildren and professionals, as well as providing funding to organizations such as the American Fisheries Society.

Ted has also provided funding, staff and leadership for cutthroat trout restoration on his Montana and New Mexico properties. In Montana, Ted and the Turner Foundation have worked with the state resource agency to propose restoration of approximately 70 miles of stream for westslope cutthroat trout. In New Mexico, several collaborative projects are ongoing to enhance and restore Rio Grande cutthroat trout to streams in both northern and southern New Mexico. In 2002, Rio Grande cutthroat trout were restored to 14 miles of stream and 4 lakes on the Vermejo Park Ranch. On the Ladder Ranch in southern NM, Ted is supporting research, monitoring, and propagation of endangered Chiricahua leopard frogs and the sensitive Rio Grande suckers, with the objective of expanding the range of both species and furthering the understanding of the species’ ecology and decline. Along the Rio Grande River, Ted is working to remove invasive salt cedar and replace it with the native cottonwood-willow bosque that once dominated this riparian system. This project will have many impacts, including water conservation and enhancement of habitat for multiple endangered species (Rio Grande silvery minnow, SW willow flycatcher). Importantly, Ted has instructed his employees to restore riparian corridors on all his properties by implementing focussed restoration activities, removing grazing pressure, and reducing or eliminating irrigation withdrawals. Ted was one of the first Montana landowners to take advantage of a state statute that allowed the change of water rights from irrigation to instream flow.

Collectively, Ted’s direct efforts and those of numerous grantees are greatly contributing to the restoration of fisheries resources and associated habitats in western North America. In addition, the leadership that Ted has shown will enable other organizations and land owners to take the steps needed to assure the sustainability of native fish populations throughout the west. Therefore, in recognition of this substantial contribution to the conservation of fishery resources, the Western Division-AFS is pleased to bestow the WDAFS Conservation Achievement Award to Ted Turner and the Turner Foundation.

Presented by Eric Knudsen
WDAFS Past-President & Awards Committee Chair
April 16, 2003