The Murie
Spirit of Conservation Awards
The Murie Spirit of Conservation Awards
The Murie Spirit of Conservation Awards celebrate conservation leadership. The Murie Ranch honors individuals who have shown an exemplary commitment to protecting wildlife and wild places. Each year, Teton Science Schools selects recipients for the Murie Spirit of Conservation Award and the Local Legend Award. The Spirit of Conservation Award honors an individual whose life’s work exemplifies dedication to conservation, civility, and community. The Rising Leader Award recognizes outstanding conservation professionals in the Mountain West Region.
16th Annual Murie Spirit of Conservation Awards
An Evening of Inspiration
Honoring
2026 Murie Spirit of Conservation Awardee
NANCY SHEA, PH.D.
Founding Dean, Teton Science Schools Graduate Program
Founding Director, The Murie Center
Environmental Educator & Nonprofit Leader
2026 Local Legend Awardee
ARTHUR MIDDLETON, PH.D.
G.R. and W.M. Goertz Professor of Wildlife Management
Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management
University of California, Berkeley
Teton Science Schools invites you to an evening of inspiration.
Thursday, September 24, 2026
5:00 PM | Arrival & Reception
6:00 PM | Award Ceremony
Concluding at 7:00 PM
The Murie Ranch
Moose, Wyoming
Grand Teton National Park
This event is free and open to the public, but RSVPs are required as space is limited. This evening is for adult guests, and we encourage elevated mountain-town attire. We will provide drinks and hors d’oeuvres.
Please park at the Craig Thomas Discovery and Visitor Center, as the ranch parking is limited. A shuttle will begin operating 30 minutes before the event and will run continuously throughout the evening.
Previous Awardees
Have Included
Spirit of Conservation Awardees
- 2025 – The Honorable Rob Wallace, former Assistant Secretary, Department of the Interior
- 2024 – 60th Anniversary of the signing of the Wilderness Act and The Murie Legacy
- 2023 – The Kingdom of Bhutan, dedication to environmental preservation
- 2022 – Dr. Jane Goodall, DBE, Founder of the Jane Goodall Institute (JGI) and UN Messenger of Peace
- 2021 – Rose Marcario, Board Member, Advisor, and Former CEO of Patagonia, Inc.
- 2020 – Robert Stanton, the first African American to be appointed as Director of the National Park Service, served from 1997 to 2001.
- 2019 – Jimmy Chin, Academy Award-winning filmmaker, National Geographic photographer, and mountain sports athlete.
- 2018 – Bert Raynes, local conservation and wildlife advocate.
- 2017 – Sally Jewell, Former US Secretary of the Interior under the Obama Administration.
- 2016 – Harrison Ford, Actor and Vice-Chair of Conservation International, a global nonprofit dedicated to building a healthier, more prosperous, and more productive planet.
- 2015- John Turner, a Jackson Hole native, conservationist, and devotee of Olaus and Mardy Murie. Notably, former President of the Wyoming State Senate, Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs.
- 2014 – Luther Propst, Founder of The Sonoran Institute, conservation leader in policy and projects focused on core issues (sustainable water, land use, community development) that define how the West is growing and changing.
- 2013 – Gretchen Long, founding board member of The Murie Center of Teton Science Schools, current board member of The National Park Advisory Board (among many others, former and current), and committed advocate for conserving America’s treasured parks and wilderness areas.
- 2012 – Dr. George Schaller and Dr. Robert Krear, esteemed field biologists and global conservationists, traveled with the Muries on their 1956 Sheenjek Expedition, which set in motion the effort to protect what is now the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
- 2011 – Addie Donnan, community leader in Jackson Hole and founding chair of The Murie Center and Teton Science Schools emeritus board member.
Rising Leader Awardees
- 2023 – Her Majesty the Queen Mother, Tseyring Pem Wangchuck, presides as the Bhutan Youth Development Fund, co-chair of the Bhutan Foundation
- 2022 – Juan Martinez-Pineda, Senior Manager at The Aspen Institute’s Forum for Community Solutions
- 2021 – Robbie Bond
- 2020 – Lia Cheek
- 2019 – CJ Goulding
- 2018 – Tanner Yess
- 2017 – Latasha Wauneka-Anderson
- 2016 – Jose Gonzales
- 2015 – Luke Lynch
- 2014 – Estee Rivera Murdock
Local Legend Awardees
- 2025 – Amy Brennan McCarthy, Chief Executive Officer, Teton Raptor Center
Keynote speakers and guest presenters have included former President of The Wilderness Society Bill Meadows; The Honorable Margaret M. McKeown, a federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit; and renowned conservationist Jane Goodall, who contributed a video introduction to our first awards dinner in 2011.
