Environmental Law Institute - National Wetlands Awards

Mr. William Volkert has worked for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) as a Wildlife Educator/Naturalist at the 32,000-acre Horicon Marsh for the past 25 years. Designated as a Wetland of International Importance in 1990, Mr. Volkert has been instrumental in helping others to understand the significance of the marsh, where he has conducted 3,500 educational programs for 200,000 visitors, as well as providing more than 1,700 media interviews. Mr. Volkert also spearheaded the effort to create the Horicon Marsh International Education Center (HMIEC), a public-private effort between the WDNR and the Friends of the HMIEC, a group which he helped form. As a result of Volkert’s vision, motivation, and leadership, the Friends worked for over a decade to raise $3 million for the construction of the HMIEC facility. Mr. Volkert’s reach extends far beyond Horicon Marsh. He has provided training to 66 delegations of scientists from 41 countries and has made eight trips to Russia’s Lake Baikal—the world’s largest freshwater body—as part of a cooperative exchange with Russian scientists to develop education materials and further public awareness for environmental protection.