**NEWS RELEASE**

CONTACT:  STEPHEN SAUTNER: (1-718-220-3682; ssautner@wcs.org)

                 JOHN DELANEY: (1-718-220-3275; jdelaney@wcs.org)

Wildlife Conservation Society’s 

John Weaver Wins Conservation Award 

Wilburforce Foundation’s Conservation Leadership Award

Presented for Efforts to Expand World Heritage Site  

      New York, N.Y. (January 4, 2010) – The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) is proud to announce Dr. John Weaver, a conservation biologist with the organization, as the winner of the Wilburforce Foundation’s Conservation Leadership Award.

      The award was given to Dr. Weaver for his many years of field research and conservation efforts in several areas of the Yellowstone-to-Yukon region. Most recently, Weaver conducted pioneering field studies on grizzly bears, Dall’s sheep and woodland caribou in the remote area surrounding Nahanni National Park, a World Heritage Site in the Northwest Territories of Canada. His research and recommendations provided the scientific basis for the 7-fold expansion of the Park announced in 2009 by the Canadian government and the Dehcho First Nations. Thanks to his leadership, Nahanni National Park now ranks as the 6^th largest National Park in the world and nearly four times larger than Yellowstone National Park.

      “John’s research has highlighted the ecological values of key North American landscapes,” stated Jennifer Miller, Wilburforce Foundation’s Yellowstone-to-Yukon Program Officer. “We are honored to present this award to John as a way of recognizing his passion, commitment, and exemplary efforts in the field of conservation.”

      Weaver, a veteran researcher with WCS and WCS Canada, said “I am honored to accept this esteemed award from the Wilburforce Foundation, a catalyst for conservation in North America. Together with First Nations and Parks Canada, we have protected one of the most wild and spectacular large landscapes in the world.”

      Weaver has worked at WCS since the mid-1990s. He has played a key role in conservation of wolves, grizzly bears, and wild cats in the United States and Canada and authored numerous scientific publications.

The Wildlife Conservation Society saves wildlife and wild places worldwide.  We do so through science, global conservation, education and the management of the world's largest system of urban wildlife parks, led by the flagship Bronx Zoo.  Together these activities change attitudes towards nature and help people imagine wildlife and humans living in harmony.  WCS is committed to this mission because it is essential to the integrity of life on Earth. Visit: www.wcs.org 

Wilburforce Foundation protects wildlife and targeted wild lands in Western North America by actively supporting organizations and leaders advancing conservation solutions. 

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