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JEFF DURNIAK – TU National Conservation Professional of the Year
2006 National Conservation Awards Announced (9/15/2006) Minneapolis, MN: National TU is proud to give this year’s Conservation Professional Award to Jeff Durniak of Georgia’s Department of Natural Resources.
Jeff is currently the Northeast Regional Fisheries Supervisor with the Wildlife Resources Division of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. For more than 7 years, Jeff has been working behind the scenes with the US Forest Service planners and managers to assure the new Chattahoochee National Forest management plan provides for good watershed restoration and protection.
Several years ago he saw the trends in our population and realized that we were facing a serious problem in the years to come because fewer and fewer young people were given an opportunity to experience fishing, and consequently develop an ethic toward the resource. As a result, he took it upon himself to become a one-man promotion team encouraging organizations such as Trout Unlimited to become angling mentors to both youngsters and adults. He is actively involved with the Youth Education Program at Smithgall Woods Conservation Center, which reaches over 14,000 school kids each year. He organized and coordinated the annual Outdoor Adventure Day at Unicoi State Park which gives over 2,000 participants an opportunity to learn more about fishing, hunting, boating, archery and other outdoor activities.
Jeff has shown dedication to TU’s mission statement from the professional to the personal level.
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