Delta Ecology chapter is honored

10/6/2009

DELTA, Ohio - The Delta chapter of the Izaak Walton League, an environmental conservation organization, has received a national award to recognize its local work.

During the organization's recent national convention in Sioux Falls, S.D., Delta chapter members received the Defender Award honoring outstanding service to conservation of natural and renewable resources.

Delta chapter members' community conservation efforts include roadside litter cleanup and tree plantings, and the chapter hosts hunter education classes, trap and still-target shooting, and fishing derbies.

On its property southwest of Delta, the chapter is husbanding a one-acre pond and an open field of native trees to be returned to a natural wildlife area. The chapter grounds host scout troops and 4-H clubs to promote the development of a new generation of conservationists.

"The Delta chapter exemplifies the commitment to community and conservation that the Izaak Walton League is all about," said Mike Williams, the League's national president. "We are proud to count their members among our ranks, and to honor their service to protecting America's outdoors with this award."

The Defender Award is given annually to a varying number of chapters based on a set of criteria covering education, conservation, youth programs, membership, communication, and contributions to the national organization, spokesman Dawn Merritt said. The Delta chapter is among 34 of the organization's 270 chapters that qualified this year, she said.