Awardee

Cheryl Miller
National Audubon Society
St. Paul, Minnesota

Cheryl Miller is the Minnesota Wetlands Director for the National Audubon Society. In this capacity, she participates in public policy debates about wetlands, directs a multifaceted public education program, and monitors how wetland protection laws are being implemented in Minnesota. A special focus area has been developing field programs that get members of the public out into wetlands to collect information that is useful to local wetland decision makers. The program will provide information about habitat, water quality, and vegetation in natural and restored wetlands.

For the past seven years, under Miller’s leadership, the Audubon Society has led the effort to pass and then defend strong statewide wetlands regulation. The effort has included developing legislation, organizing grassroots support, staffing the Minnesota Wetlands Conservation Coalition, and participating in the rulemaking process. Miller also edits a series of booklets on Minnesota wetlands policy and ecology that is widely used by government and private groups. She helped design and implement Audubon’s national wetlands campaign, and she also serves on the board of the Land Stewardship Project and the Great Lakes Aquatic Habitat Fund.

— Amy Middleton, Minnesota Citizens for a Better Environment