The Herbert W. Kale, II Award

Nomination statement for Dr. Larry D. Harris, recipient of the Florida Chapter of The Wildlife Society's 1998 Herbert W. Kale, II Award:

Dr. Harris is an internationally respected scientist in the field of biodiversity. He has served in an advisory capacity to governments in Botswana, Costa Rica, Sweden, and the United States. He has served on numerous advisory councils on behalf of The Wildlife Society, the National Academy of Sciences, Defenders of Wildlife, the Society for Conservation Biology, and the U.S. National Park Service. He has been recognized and honored by the Society for Conservation Biology, the University of Florida, The Nature Conservancy, and The Wildlife Society.

Here in Florida, Dr. Harris has used his research on the impacts of forest and landscape fragmentation as a basis for his advocacy of wildlife corridors. He has been a Professor at the University of Florida since 1972 and has served on the Governor's Council on Florida Greenways, the University of Florida President's Council, the Florida Audubon Society's board of directors, and the Florida Wildlife Federation's board of directors. Dr. Harris is a long-standing member of the Florida Chapter of The Wildlife Society. In his career at the University of Florida, he has guided and influenced many students who have gone on to make valuable contributions in the field of wildlife and natural resource conservation.

Dr. Harris is well known for his informative and captivating style of public speaking. He has written or co-written countless articles for both the scientific and lay communities on many diverse issues including habitat fragmentation, wildlife corridors, landscape ecology, biodiversity, and global climate change. His 1984 book, The Fragmented Forest: island biogeography theory and the preservation of biotic diversity, is a classic. Dr. Harris has strived to understand "the big picture" and relate his understanding, his ideas, and his hopes to fellow professionals, the citizens of Florida, and our global community. Dr. Harris has served as an example of the role that wildlife scientists can and should play in taking their knowledge to action. His efforts to promote natural resource conservation have consistently been based on, and strengthened by, a foundation of sound scientific principles. Through his professionalism, integrity, and commitment to natural resource conservation, Dr. Harris has exemplified the type of person that the Herbert W. Kale, II Award was established to recognize. The Florida Chapter of The Wildlife Society is pleased to present Dr. Larry D. Harris with its inaugural Herbert W. Kale, II Award in recognition of these qualities and achievements.