Montana Wildlife Federation Awards
2006 Endowment Grants and Scholarships

September 15, 2006

Contacts:
Jan Cronin, MWF Development Director; 800-517-7256; jcronin@mtwf.org

Helena—Dedication to hunting ethics and tradition paid off last week for two nonprofit organizations and three university students as each received monetary awards from the Phil Tawney Hunters Conservation Endowment, a program of the Montana Wildlife Federation (MWF). Awards were made at a September 9 dinner hosted by MWF at the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation (RMEF). Nearly 80 guests congratulated the winners and celebrated the naming of the Philip D. Tawney Wing in RMEF’s Elk Country Visitor Center. Keynoting the occasion was Pat Williams, former Congressman and a fellow at the O’Connor Center for the Rocky Mountain
West in Missoula. The Phil Tawney Hunters Conservation Endowment honors the memory and perpetuates the legacy of the late Phil Tawney, a lifetime sportsman and conservationist, through grants and scholarships. Program guidelines declare that the endowment “values organizations that are grounded in democratic principles with memberships that reflect the diversity of their communities.”

• The Montana Independent Living Project will use the Tawney grant to develop a peer advocacy program by recruiting disabled high school and college students in Helena, Butte, and Bozeman to identify, visit, and assess environmental sites that have been modified for hunting and fishing accessibility. The students then will partner with state and community organizations to develop and conduct public forums to share information about access, responsibility, and how other youth can foster support for hunters in the disability community.
• The Utica Rod and Gun Club, a MWF affiliate, will use its Tawney grant to restore the local community hall, a structure that had been abandoned for 30 years and was recently donated to the club. The old building will
  be used as a community center and clubhouse where the Rod and Gun Club will continue to teach hunter safety and promote stewardship among hunters and anglers of all ages.

The Tawney endowment also honors third- and fourth-year students in Montana colleges and universities who exhibit a commitment to Montana’s outdoor heritage and explain how that commitment came about through a 500-word essay.

• Kyle Miller, a senior in wildlife biology at the University of Montana, is the president of UM’s student chapter of the Wildlife Society and a participant in many state wildlife studies. Raised in rural New York, Miller’s family prized hunting as a way to pass on “respect for nature, sound ethics, and how to be a good person,” according to his essay.
• Krista Moughey, as well, learned about “patience, observation, strength of character, respect, morals, life, and death” as she hunted and fished with her father around her native Colstrip. A senior in wildlife biology and environmental studies at the University of Montana, Moughey has volunteered for a trifecta of wildlife studies, including black bear, reptiles, and osprey.
• A nontraditional student, Curtis Timmons wrote a moving essay about teaching his son to hunt, demonstrating his love of the outdoors and his commitment as an ethical sportsman. Timmons is a junior in environmental studies at Montana State University-Billings.

In his keynote address, Pat Williams praised Phil Tawney for “extraordinary” achievements and for his gift as a “creator and social-political inventor,” citing the many organizations he had helped found and awards he had received as “blazes on the Tawney Trail.” Among the organizations Tawney helped found and lead were the Cinnabar Foundation, Forever Wild Endowment, Hunters and Anglers Political Action Committee, Montana Committee for an Effective Legislature, Montana Environmental Information Center, Orion the Hunters Institute, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, and Teller Wildlife Refuge. Williams spoke of Tawney’s “passion, enthusiasm, and trust” as recurring themes in pursuing issues, coalition-building, and hunting and fishing.

The application deadline for 2007 Tawney grants and scholarships is December 1, 2006. For more information, contact Jan Cronin at the Montana Wildlife Federation, P.O. Box 1175, Helena, MT 59624; jcronin@mtwf.org; or 800-517-7256.

Thank you for all you do for Montana's public lands, wildlife, and fair-chase hunting and fishing heritage.

Montana Wildlife Federation, with nearly 7,000 members, is the largest and oldest statewide nonprofit wildlife conservation organization of hunters and anglers who work to protect Montana's lands and waters and its hunting and fishing heritage.

To learn more about MWF, go to www.montanawildlife.com.

This message is brought to you by the Montana Wildlife Federation ... Montana's largest, statewide wildlife conservation organization with over 7,000 members.