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Watershed landowners: the ultimate champions of water quality.

Karl Connell Award Winners

This award honors Karl Connell, a Catskill Mountain leader in conservation who helped mediate the citizen interests upstream with the New York City interests to protect its water supply. The Karl Connell Award recognizes individuals for their wisdom, guidance, and leadership in promoting forest stewardship and protecting water quality.

In 2011, Eric Rasmussen accepted the Karl Connell Award for his work in forest conservation and education in Greene County. He is most widely recognized for his philanthropic donation of 142 acres of woodlands that comprise Siuslaw Model Forest, a collaborative outdoor classroom used for student, logger and landowner trainings. Eric hosted the first NYS Envirothon in 1991, meetings and programs for the Society of American Foresters, the Capital District New York Forest Owners Association, the Hudson Mohawk RC&D Council, the Catskill Forest Association, the Northeast Deer and Elk Breeder Association, and Project Learning Tree. Eric's current memberships include the Society of American Foresters, New York Forest Owners Association, the Catskill Forest Association. He also sits on the Advisory Committee for the Agroforestry Resource Center whose mission is to "sustain the ecological, aesthetic and economic values of forested lands through education," a vision he shares.

Plaque Inscription on the Karl Connell Watershed Forestry Award: The Directors, Partners and Staff of the Watershed Agricultural Council, Inc. wish to formally recognize the honorees for their wisdom, guidance and leadership in the development and support of the Watershed Agricultural Council's Forestry Program to promote forest stewardship, working forest land and water quality protection in the New York City watershed.

Past Karl Connell Award Recipients
2003 Karl Connell, Esq.
2004 Marcus Phelps (retired U.S. Forest Service)
2005 John Schwartz (NYC DEP)
2006 Dr. René Germain, Ph.D. (SUNY-ESF)
2007 Congressman Maurice Hinchey
2008 No Award Given
2009 Paul Trotta (retired NYS DEC)
2010 Jack McShane

2011 Karl Connell Award Winner Eric Rasmussen
Tom Pavlesich, Forestry Program Manager (left), 2011 Karl Connell Award winner Eric Rasmussen (center) and Craig Cashman, WAC Executive Director (right).