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Spirit of the Shack

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Nebraska Game and Parks Commission Director Tim McCoy presenting the Midwest Fish & Wildlife Agencies’ Spirit of the Shack Achievement Award to Greg Wagner.
Nebraska Game and Parks Commission Director Tim McCoy presenting the Midwest Fish & Wildlife Agencies’ Spirit of the Shack Achievement Award to Greg Wagner. Eric Fowler, Nebraskaland Magazine

By Greg Wagner

Flattered … Humbled … Thrilled … These are just a few words that describe how I felt with an unexpected, major award I recently received.

Called “Spirit of the Shack,” this unique conservation award is a significant one in the world of natural resources conservation. Past award winners constitute a who’s who (prominent persons list) in the conservation profession.

The “Spirit of the Shack” Achievement Award is given by the Midwest Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies (MAFWA) to the individual who exemplifies the ideals of great conservationist and educator, Aldo Leopold, and who has contributed to conservation in a superior way. The person who receives this award must epitomize Leopold’s stewardship and dedication to fish and wildlife resources.

Many of Leopold’s inspirational writings and drawings about conservation, the environment and wildlife took place in a small, primitive shack on his farm from the early 1930s until his death in 1948.  A collection of his personal essays and sketches were published in a renowned book after his passing, entitled: A Sand County Almanac. The main message of A Sand County Almanac is to promote a land ethic and conservation of nature. It is widely used and respected by wildlife professionals today.

Want to more about the Midwest Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies? It is an organization of 13 state and 3 provincial Midwest fish and wildlife agencies. The purpose of the organization is to share ideas, information and research, pool resources and initiate action to benefit the management and conservation of fish and wildlife resources in the Midwest.

Words cannot explain how wonderful it feels to receive this prestigious award from MAFWA. I thank all the people who really made it possible — the public, media, landowners, supportive teammates, colleagues, and mentors, and important people in my personal life. I pledge to work even harder and smarter, keep reaching for higher goals, and continue to inspire others to attain their fullest potential.

A very special thank you to our wonderful leaders, my supervisors at the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission for the award nomination — Tim McCoy, Director and Christy Firestone, Communications Division Administrator.

And lastly, a big thank you to the MAFWA Awards Committee for recognizing my efforts regarding fish and wildlife conservation. It will never be forgotten!

“There are some who can live without wild things, and some who cannot.” ― Aldo Leopold, A Sand County Almanac: With Essays on Conservation

Greg Wagner is a communications and marketing specialist and manager for the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission's Service Center in Omaha. On a weekly basis, Wagner can be heard on a number of radio stations, seen on local television in Omaha, and on social media channels, creatively conveying natural resource conservation messages as well as promoting outdoor activities and destinations in Nebraska. Wagner, whose career at Game and Parks began in 1979, walks, talks, lives, breathes and blogs about Nebraska’s outdoors. He grew up in rural Gretna, building forts in the woods, hunting, fishing, collecting leaves, and generally thriving on constant outdoor activity. One of the primary goals of his blog is to get people, especially young ones, to have fun and spend time outside!