Clint Boal, a professor with Texas Tech University's Department of Natural Resources Management and assistant leader of the USGS Texas Cooperative Fish & Wildlife Research Unit in Lubbock, has been selected to receive the Texas Chapter of The Wildlife Society's 2023 Excellence in Wildlife Conservation: Educator of the Year Award. The honor was presented Thursday (Feb. 23) at the organization's annual conference in Houston.

Program officials noted that the educator of the year honor recognizes individuals for excellence in developing and disseminating information to students, landowners and others. It is among the top three most prestigious, nomination-based awards within TCTWS.

Boal is the second, current Texas Tech NRM faculty to win the award. Blake Grisham, an associate professor in Tech's Department of Natural Resources Management, received the award in 2018.

“I was completely stunned at this honor and incredibly touched that I had been nominated for it,” Boal said. “I had never even imagined it was something I would be considered for.”

Boal joined the Texas Tech faculty and the USGS Texas Cooperative Unit in 2000 after receiving his doctorate from the University of Arizona, has authorship/co-authorship of more than 120 peer reviewed papers and 200 professional presentations focused on ecology, conservation and management of avian species In addition, he has served in several capacities of governance of ornithological societies, including past service as president of the Raptor Research Foundation.

Boal has more than two decades of research projects involving Lesser Prairie-Chickens, Mississippi Kites, Golden Eagles, American Kestrels, Swainson's Hawks, Zone-Tailed Hawks, Texas Kangaroo Rats, among others.

During the TCTWS meeting, Boal was also awarded the organization's ‘Outstanding Scientific Publication – Book' for Raptors of Texas: A Natural History of Diurnal Birds of Prey by Boal and Craig Farquhar with Texas State University's Department of Biology.

Earlier in his career, Boal co-edited the book Urban Raptors: Ecology and Conservation of Birds of Prey in Cities with independent researcher Cheryl Dykstra. Boal's other book, Ecology & Conservation of Lesser Prairie-Chickens, co-edited with David Haukos from the USGS Kansas Cooperative Fish & Wildlife Research Unit, won the 'Scientific Book of the Year Award' in 2018 from the national and Texas chapters of The Wildlife Society.

Honors for Boal include having received The Wildlife Society's W.L. McAtee and G. V. Burger Award for Outstanding Service as an associate editor (2020), and the Raptor Research Foundation's Fran & Frederick Hamerstrom Award (2019), the most prestigious award presented by the foundation. In addition, he was elected as a American Ornithological Society Elective Member (2019), an honor based on significant contributions to ornithology. 

 The Texas Cooperative Fish & Wildlife Research Unit was established at Texas Tech in 1988. Part of the National Cooperative Research Units Program, it resides within the U.S. Geological Survey. According to program leaders, its mission is to conduct and facilitate research and education activities related to natural resource management and conservation. The unit's cooperators include Texas Tech, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, U.S. Geological Survey, the Wildlife Management Institute, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Current research efforts focus on aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. 

CONTACT: Warren Conway, Chairman and Bricker Endowed Chair in Wildlife Management, Department of Natural Resources Management, Texas Tech University at (806) 742-2841 or warren.conway@ttu.edu

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