GOVERNOR AND CABINET RECOGNIZE DEP, DACS, FWC RESOURCE MANAGERS WITH HIGHEST ENVIRONMENTAL AWARD

Florida DEP Banner

For Immediate Release: Sept. 20, 2011

Contacts: DEP Press Office 850.245.2112, DACS Press Office 850.488.3022 or

               FWC Press Office 850.488.8843 

GOVERNOR AND CABINET RECOGNIZE DEP, DACS, FWC RESOURCE MANAGERS WITH HIGHEST ENVIRONMENTAL AWARD

~Land managers honored for their dedication to protecting Florida’s environment~


Spoonbills fly over the water at Myakka River State Park.

Spoonbills fly over the water at Myakka River State Park.


TALLAHASSEE - Governor Rick Scott and the Florida Cabinet today signed four resolutions sponsored by Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putman honoring recipients of the 2010 Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Jim Stevenson Resource Manager of the Year Award, one of the state’s highest environmental honors.
“These four employees have demonstrated how we can continue to improve the way we do business in Florida by being more resourceful, efficient stewards of our land and resources,” said Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam. “Each of these individuals took the initiative–not because they were asked, but because it was the right thing to do. We can all learn by their example and work together to create a better and brighter future for all those who call Florida home.”
The award recipients are Lee Edmiston, director of DEP’s Apalachicola National Estuarine Research Reserve; Jason DePue, lead biologist for District Three of DEP’s Florida Park Service; Don Francis, area manager and biologist of the Joe Budd Wildlife Management Area with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC); and Winnie Schreiber, manager of the Withlacoochee Forestry Center with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ (DACS) Florida Forest Service. They represent the states leaders in natural resource management.
“Each year, DEP uses this award to recognize state employees who demonstrate outstanding commitment to land management and protecting our state’s natural resources,” said DEP Secretary Herschel T. Vinyard Jr. “This year, the selection committee chose four recipients who are truly deserving of this honor, and I commend them on their contributions to our state.”
The recipients were recognized for the following accomplishments:
DEP: For more than 18 years, Lee Edmiston worked tirelessly to improve the scientific understanding of the Apalachicola River and Bay system as the research coordinator at the Apalachicola National Estuarine Research Reserve. Because of his extensive knowledge of coastal ecosystems, Lee was appointed as the state’s Natural Resources Damage Assessment Trustee for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Lee has distinguished himself through tireless work and self sacrifice to protect Florida’s coastal resources.
DEP: Jason DePue is the lead biologist for District Three of the Florida Park Service. Jason’s work ethic, experience and resourcefulness give him the ability to translate his resource management knowledge into action. Jason has actively assisted in achieving the resource management objectives of District Three parks and has been a great asset to prescribed fire, exotic plant, listed species and habitat restoration projects. Jason enthusiastically shares his knowledge of resource management and willingly answers questions from park staff and visitors. His dedication to the Florida Park Service ensures that Florida and its visitors will have invaluable natural and recreational benefits that will endure far into the future.
FWC: Don Francis has served as area manager and biologist on the Joe Budd Wildlife Management Area, in Gadsden County, for more than 30 years. He is known as a tireless leader and champion for the stewardship of slope forests. His measures to catalog and protect rare natural communities have included discovering and recording the presence of a new state and national champion Pyramid Magnolia.
“Don Francis is a tireless steward of the land,” said Nick Wiley, executive director of FWC. “His commitment as a manager and biologist on the Joe Budd Wildlife Management Area for more than 30 years has touched the lives of thousands of Floridians, of all ages, who enjoy the outdoors."
DACS: Winnie Schreiber is the manager of the Withlacoochee Forestry Center, which is headquartered near Brooksville, and includes the Withlacoochee and Seminole State Forests. Her leadership has led to numerous accomplishments on these forests including significant contributions to forestry, recreation, endangered species and fire management. Winnie’s cooperative spirit toward land management has established lasting relationships with local, state and federal partners, as well as the general public, to ensure that forest management decisions always meet the state’s public service responsibilities, and that our land stewardship ethic is advanced for future generations of Floridians.