CASNR grad honored with BRIT Int'l Award of Excellence in Conservation
A graduate of Texas Tech University's Department of Natural Resources Management has been selected to receive this year's 'International Award of Excellence in Conservation' from the Botanical Research Institute of Texas (BRIT).
Carter Smith, who graduated with a bachelor's degree in wildlife management from Tech in 1993, currently serves as executive director of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. His contributions to conservation will be recognized at a BRIT International Award of Excellence in Conservation Gala on Oct. 20 at the Worthington Renaissance Hotel in Fort Worth.
Program leaders note that Smith is being honored for his notable strides in the realms of private lands stewardship, the Children & Nature Network movement in Texas, coastal issues related to the Deepwater Horizon incident, invasive species issues, and the acquisition of new park land.
Smith serves on a number of conservation-related boards of directors and advisory councils, and has served in various leading roles for the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies. He was named an outstanding alumnus by Yale University and Tech's College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources (2008). He has been honored with conservation awards from the Audubon Society and the Texas Wildlife Association.
Prior to joining Texas Parks and Wildlife, Smith served with the Nature Conservancy of Texas as South Texas project director, director of conservation programs and, eventually, state director. He was the first executive director of the Katy Prairie Conservancy and continues to serve on its advisory board.
Separately, Smith is a member of the advisory boards for Texas State University and Texas A&M University. He is a former member of Tech's College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources' Advisory Board. Smith received his master's degree in conservation biology from Yale University.
Established in 1987, BRIT is a non-profit organization housed at the Southern Methodist University Herbarium. It includes more than 1 million specimens, and a botanical library with 100,000 volumes, including the personal collections of Lloyd Shinners, one of the most influential Texas botanists of the twentieth century. The organization occupies 11,500 square feet on two floors of a turn-of-the-century warehouse in downtown Fort Worth.
Written by Norman Martin
CONTACT: Mark Wallace, Chairman, Department of Natural Resources Management, Texas Tech University at (806) 742-2841, mark.wallace@ttu.edu
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