National Audubon Society Honors S-R Outdoors Editor

Rich Landers, outdoors editor for The Spokesman-Review, has been awarded the National Audubon Society’s annual Conservation Award.

The award, one of the National Audubon Society’s most prestigious, will be presented to Landers at a potluck dinner Friday at Farragut State Park.

For 19 years, Landers has been prowling the outdoors for the benefit of S-R readers. The ring of conservation is in all of Landers’ work. But he has the uncommon ability to write with authority and appeal to everyone from die-hard hunters to bird watchers.

His writing ranges from humor to take-no-prisoners political commentary supported by extensive background work in both the field and the office.

In its nominating letter for the award, the Coeur d’Alene chapter of the Audubon Society said through his newspaper articles “Landers has encouraged all segments of society to practice the conservation of birds …

“Rich has proved to be much more than a bullet and tackle outdoor editor … he’s covered birds with a wider vision than that of merely looking through a rifle’s sights. He talked about where to watch birds, not just where to hunt them. He covered the latest news about turkeys, pheasants, and ducks; but also made room for news about non-game-bird species.”

The potluck dinner, open to the public, is scheduled to start at 6 p.m at the Locust Grove Shelter. A fire tender will be at the site at 4:30 p.m.

For more information phone Susan Weller at (208) 682-3413.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo