New Page 4

While growing up on a farm near Indian Head, Mr. Scott developed a keen appreciation for wildlife. He began building nest boxes for bluebirds at the age of 15. The boxes have a small opening that keeps an introduced species, European starlings, from taking over bluebird nests. Eventually the boxes he placed along roadways formed a network of Bluebird trails extending across Saskatchewan and linking with trails in Alberta and Manitoba. For this and other conservation work, Lorne Scott received the annual Conservation Award from the Saskatchewan Natural History Society in 1969 and the Governor General's Conservation Award in 1981.

In 1967, he began work at the Saskatchewan Museum of Natural History and then in 1975 moved to the Wascana Centre Authority, where he served as Park Naturalist until 1991. In 1975, Mr. Scott began his own farming operation at Indian Head and has continued farming, along with all his other conservation work. This has allowed him to build an understanding between farmers and naturalists. Lorne developed a keen interest in nature photography in the 1970s and began to use his photographs to help young people connect with nature. School groups, girl guides and boy scouts from across the province have all benefited from his presentations and field trips. Mr. Scott received a Canadian Merit Award and the B.M. Melason Award for his role in environmental education.

Lorne was the first chairman of the Canadian Council of the Whooping Crane Conservation Association. In 1987, he received an Honour Award from the Association for his efforts to preserve the Whooping Crane and other endangered species, such as the Burrowing Owl. Mr. Scott served as president of Nature Saskatchewan from 1980 to 1982. During his term, he participated in the creation of Saskatchewan's Heritage Marsh Program. Lorne's most public campaign to conserve the natural environment was his work as president of the Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation and director of Stop Rafferty-Alameda Project (SCRAP). His efforts, and those of many others, paid off on April 10, 1989, when the Federal Court of Canada squashed the federal license because a full environmental review of the project was not conducted. For his work with SCRAP and other personal commitments to conservation, Mr. Scott was awarded the prestigious Roland Michener Conservation Award, from the Canadian Wildlife Federation. Other honours quickly followed. Lorne was featured in Outdoor Canada magazine as one of the country's top environmentalists and in 1990 he received the Canadian Nature Federation's top honour, the Douglas H. Pimlott Conservation Award.

In 1991, Mr. Scott entered politics with a strong drive to advance the issues surrounding agriculture and the environment. As a member of the Government Environment and Resource Caucus committee, he saw the addition of 1.5 million acres of Crown land added to the Wildlife Habitat Protection Act. In 1995, he was appointed Minister of Environment and Resource Management. In this role, he led the development of the Representative Areas Network to preserve critical natural areas in all of Saskatchewan's 11 ecoregions.

Lorne made the transfer back to the non-profit sector as Executive Director of the Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation, a position he held until 2003. He is currently voluntary Conservation Director with Nature Saskatchewan and Chair of the Saskatchewan Region of the Nature Conservancy of Canada. Lorne Scott was presented with Saskatchewan's 2006 Lieutenant Governor's Greenwing Conservation Award in recognition of his long time volunteer service as a fundraiser for wetland conservation.

Lorne Scott's interest and work in wildlife conservation spans five decades. His efforts continue to raise public awareness of all conservation values and needs within Saskatchewan. Recently, through his involvement with the Friends of Wascana Marsh, Mr. Scott supported the community-based McKell wetland project in Regina. This local support group has been successful in opposing a local drainage project which would have accelerated the drainage of several wetlands in the Regina Plains by re-channeling Wascana Creek. He has also built and set out over 2,000 bluebird nest boxes, banded over 30,000 birds and has a collection of some 20,000 wildlife and nature photographs. As a naturalist, farmer and environmental leader, Lorne Scott has made an outstanding contribution to advancements in conservation in Saskatchewan.

Gary Seib - Nature Saskatchewan & Lee Moats/Tom Jordens - Ducks Unlimited