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| John Bacone Honored With Fell Award |
 George B. Fell award winner John A. Bacone. In 1979, there were 51 dedicated nature preserves protecting 9,600 acres. During John’s tenure, 162 preserves were added, bringing the total to 213 dedicated preserves protecting 30,800 acres. And more areas are under consideration. John has always been a strong proponent of the efforts of private land trusts, and considers them important land protection partners. Many areas under the ownership and management of land trusts have also become dedicated nature preserves. George B. Fell was a pioneer in the natural area movement, as well as a friend and mentor to a young man by the name of John Bacone. Today, John admirably carries on the commitment and tradition of George Fell and is widely recognized as a leader in the natural area field. • |
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| The Natural Areas Association bestows its highest award,
the George B. Fell Award, upon an individual who exhibits the highest
qualities of a natural area professional and who has significantly
advanced natural area identification, protection, stewardship, or
research. This award is given in honor of George B. Fell, founder of the
Natural Land Institute, a founding member of NAA, and a person who
dedicated his life to the protection of natural areas. The 2007 recipient
of the Fell Award is Mr. John A. Bacone, Director of the Division of
Nature Preserves in the Indiana Department of Natural Resources (IDNR). John Bacone grew up in Chicago, Illinois. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Botany and Zoology from Eastern Illinois University in 1971 and a Master of Science degree in Forest Ecology and Botany from the University of Illinois in 1973. In 1974, the Indiana Division of State Parks established its first full-time interpretive naturalists at six state parks, with John among that first class. The next year, he moved to the Illinois Natural Area Inventory, where he was one of the field biologists assessing natural areas for potential protection. It was during the inventory that John developed a lifelong interest in prairies and savannas. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, John was privileged to have mentors and advisors of the likes of George Fell, Bob Betz, Floyd Swink, |
and Ray Schulenberg. These early
pioneers had a profound influence on John and his affection for natural
areas and their protection. In 1977, John joined the IDNR as the Assistant
Director of the Division of Nature Preserves. At the time, it was a
Division of only three people. Two years later, he became the Director, a
position he still holds today. Today, the Division has twenty full-time
employees, and up to fifteen or more seasonal employees. Somewhere amidst
these responsibilities, John also found the time to serve for ten years as
a member of the NAA Board of Directors. John brought the Illinois Natural Area Inventory methodology and his experience to Indiana. In 1983, he, along with state TNC Director Bill Weeks, developed a program to fund land acquisition for natural area protection. The Indiana Natural Area Protection Campaign was to provide a $10 million land acquisition fund. One half of the money would come from state funds, with the other half coming from privately raised dollars. The program became a reality in 1984 with the passage of an act by the Indiana General Assembly. |
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 Field trip participants on Beaver Creek, a Ohio Wild and Scenic River. |
The Natural Areas Conference
2007: |
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| The 34th Natural Areas Conference, co-hosted by the Natural Areas Association and the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, was held October 9-12 in Cleveland, Ohio. The conference theme “Some Assembly Required” focused on managing natural areas in an increasingly fragmented landscape. Nearly 450 people, including guests from Uganda and South Africa, gathered to explore the natural history and diversity of Ohio and the Midwest region. But, as one would expect at a NAC, the topics of papers, posters, and dinner conversations ranged from the local to the global. Concurrent sessions |
(many of them standing-room-only), offered diverse topics such as invasive
species, soil ecology, seed banks, aquatic ecosystems, conservation
planning and partnerships, and National Natural Landmarks. Some of the
special events included a Land Trusts workshop, the State Natural Areas
Program Roundtable, and symposia on Deer Management, Prescribed Fire,
and Invasive Species. In addition to being great organizers, the Cleveland Museum of Natural History could not have been a more perfect, symbiotic co-host for the 2007 Conference. The CMNH has its own Natural Areas Program, which
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