The Board of Directors of Travis Audubon is honored to announce that the 2023 Victor Emanuel Conservation Award Hero is the longstanding Texas parks and conservation advocate, George Bristol. Mr. Bristol has been a political organizer, lobbyist, and successful entrepreneur for more than sixty years. Appointed to the National Park Foundation board by President Bill Clinton, Bristol was prolific in his efforts to fundraise and raise the public profile of America’s extraordinary parks. Seeing what he had accomplished on a national level, Bristol later returned to his home state of Texas to improve its state parks, which were in dire need of public funding. Forming the Texas Coalition for Conservation, he fought for increased support for Texas state parks by leading a decades-long campaign to permanently dedicate the Sporting Good Tax to fund state and local parks and historic sites. Texas voters approved this constitutional amendment in 2019.
A Texas native, George’s mother moved him and his younger brother to Austin in the early 1950s. His mother was a teacher and librarian who instilled in him a love of nature. His passion for parks began while he was a student at The University of Texas at Austin and spent the summers of 1961 and 1962 working on the trail crew at Glacier National Park in Montana.
George is the author of Glacier National Park: A Culmination of Giants; his autobiography, Politics and Parks; and the recently published Texas State Parks: The First One Hundred Years, 1923-2023. He also served two terms as Chair of Audubon Texas and currently sits on the Board of Fort Worth Nature Center & Refuge.
“Celebrating Mr. Bristol in the same year that we mark the centennial of the Texas state parks system could not be more perfectly timed! We are thrilled to shine a light on all that he has done to protect our beloved Texas parks as places for both people and wildlife to thrive,” said Travis Audubon Executive Director, Nicole Netherton.
We will host our 14th annual Victor Emanuel Conservation Award Celebration on the evening of Thursday October 12, 2023 at The Junior League of Austin’s Community Impact Center. We hope you will join us for the festivities. Sponsorships will be available starting on July 1, 2023 and individual tickets sales will open up on August 1, 2023.
About Travis Audubon:
As an independent chapter of the National Audubon Society, Travis Audubon promotes the enjoyment, understanding, and conservation of native birds through inclusive environmental education, habitat protection, restoration, and management, and conservation advocacy. Travis Audubon manages four wildlife sanctuaries in the Austin area, including protected habitat for the endangered Golden-cheeked Warbler. Since 1952, Travis Audubon and its members have recognized the importance of protecting the ecological balance necessary for healthy, sustainable, and habitable communities, both for people and wildlife. Get involved and learn more at www.travisaudubon.org and follow on Facebook and Twitter @TravisAudubon, and Instagram @TravisAudubonSociety.
Contact
Cheyenne Moore, Development Manager
cheyenne@travisaudubon.org
(512) 300-2473
Nicole Netherton, Executive Director
Travis Audubon
(512) 300-2473
