Bridges is Field & Stream’s Conservation Hero of the Year
Eddie Bridges of Greensboro, director of the N.C. Wildlife Habitat Foundation and a former member of the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission, has earned Field & Stream magazine’s 2012 Conservation Hero of the Year award.
The prestigious honor was presented to Bridges, 79, on Oct. 4 in Washington, D.C.
Bridges was one of six finalists for the Field & Stream award and is the only American ever to have won four awards from private national conservation groups. He previously won the Feinstone Environmental (1991), Chevron (2000) and Anheuser-Busch’s Conservationist of the Year (2004) award.
“Eddie’s ambitious project is a perfect example of the hard work outdoorsmen are willing to put in to protect America’s wildlife and wild places.” said Anthony Licata, the magazine’s editorial director. “The work he is doing in North Carolina will benefit outdoorsmen for generations, and we’re proud to honor him.”
A long-time Greensboro resident, Bridges received $5,500 and a new Toyota Tundra truck along with his award.
“It was exciting, and although I anticipated having a shot, I really was stunned when they called my name,” said Bridges, who helped created the N.C. Wildlife Endowment Fund while a member of the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission from 1977-1989.
Bridges’ N.C. Wildlife Habitat Foundation, begun in 1994 and run by volunteers, has raised nearly $4 million in donations and spent $1 million on conservation projects, mostly in matching funds.
His latest project is an effort to rebuild quail populations in North Carolina.
“I earmarked the $5,500 for the Quail Habitat Fund,” Bridges said. “I thought that was an appropriate place for that.”
Bridges said he thought the NCWHF’s diverse projects probably tipped the scales in his favor during the F&S competition.
“There were some really outstanding people with great projects, such as a fellow from Maryland who had built thousands of wood duck boxes,” he said. “But (the Habitat Foundation) has done 14 projects so far, and we’re planning on more. I think that helped.”
Be the first to comment