State grizzly bear management specialist Tim Manley has been selected as the first recipient of the Bud Moore Conservation Award.

Co-sponsored by Northwest Connections, the Swan Ecosystem Center and the Vital Ground Foundation, the award recognizes individuals who have gone out of their way to work with rural residents in the conservation of natural resources.

In presenting the award, Vital Grounds executive director Gary Wolfe said Manley was selected for his leadership, holistic thinking, wildlife conservation vision and spirit of cooperation — all traits embodied by the late Bud Moore, an iconic forester and outdoorsman.

“Bud was a true conservationist that believed that the community needed to be involved,” Manley said in accepting the award.  

Moore was a forerunner of the thought process that led to the concepts of ecosystem management. He believed that resource harvest did not have to sacrifice sustainability. He also was one of the founders of current wilderness fire management policies and orchestrated its early implementation.

Moore lived on an 80-acre homestead, Coyote Forest, in the Swan Valley until his death in 2010.

In 2005, Moore donated a conservation easement on Coyote Forest to Vital Ground. At the time, he said, “You look out the window and you can see values of all kinds right there in front of your eyes. We realize that all those values are intertwined and dependent on each other. I see this conservation easement as a way to live a little better with the Earth.”

“Bud Moore made more impact in his world than most of us will ever dream to make,” said Northwest Connections Executive Director Melanie Parker, who spearheaded the idea for the award. “He had the ability to inspire, and he had the ability to set you straight if you needed it. He would listen to anything and anyone, but had a firm sense of his own convictions. He was a man of the world and a man of the woods.”

The award, “Grizz,” which was sculpted by wildlife bronze artist Forest Hart, was presented to Manley at the 15th anniversary celebration of Northwest Connections on July 12 in Condon.

Northwest Connections was formed to integrate local knowledge and science, promote local involvement and employment in conservation, and to provide a learning laboratory for students from across the country.

The Swan Ecosystem Center is a nonprofit organization working to maintain the Swan Valley’s unique natural resources and ensure that a vibrant community can sustain itself within a healthy ecosystem through stewardship.

Vital Ground is a land trust working to protect and restore North American’s grizzly bear populations by conserving habitat.