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RESTON, Va. —  Illinois ecologist Martin Kemper has received the National Wildlife Federation’s prestigious Volunteer of the Year Award. Kemper, whose public service with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources spanned more than three decades, is recognized for his work and leadership with the Prairie Rivers Network’s Tree and Plant Health Monitoring Program.

“After a long career supporting Illinois wildlife, Marty continues to demonstrate extraordinary commitment to conservation,” said Collin O’Mara, president and CEO of the National Wildlife Federation. “His efforts to document and educate the public about how herbicide drift harms plants and trees have made an enormous impact, and his passion and expertise are an invaluable resource to both the Prairie Rivers Network and the Federation as a whole.”

“I started listing birds when I was 11, and I’ve felt a deep connection to Illinois’ amazing wildlife ever since,” Kemper said. “Learning, protecting, and sharing the wonders of our unique natural communities has been a life-long endeavor and source of joy.”

Kemper spent 35 years as a Wildlife, Natural Heritage, and Private Lands Biologist with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. Since 2017, he has worked with Prairie Rivers Network to develop their Tree and Plant Health Monitoring Program, which tracks herbicide drift exposures in Illinois. He has also co-authored three reports on this issue and helped PRN build momentum around it — leading to the creation of Save Our Trees, a coalition dedicated to ending off-target herbicide injuries to trees and plants. 

In addition, Kemper has engaged with invasive species control, prescribed fire application, native plant seed collection, and nature-based field and classroom education programs in Illinois. He has been working on his own 10-acre prairie restoration since 1995—a project that provides habitat for diverse wildlife, including turkeys and cottontails as well as less common prairie cicadas, nesting woodcock, and the heart-pounding explosion of a covey of increasingly rare bobwhite quail.

“This work on drift wouldn’t be possible without the great staff at NWF affiliate Prairie Rivers Network and especially project lead Kim Erndt-Pitcher,” Kemper said. “Credit also belongs to a talented and committed team of unheralded co-volunteers I’ve had the enviable opportunity to work with over the past eight years. And the biggest debt is to my amazingly supportive spouse, Linda, who makes my work possible.”

The National Wildlife Federation Conservation Achievement Awards began in 1966. Since then, the National Wildlife Federation has celebrated individuals and organizations that have made outstanding contributions to protecting wildlife through education, advocacy, communication and on-the-ground conservation. Previous honorees have included former Presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, First Ladies Lady Bird Johnson and Michelle Obama, and other national leaders, including U.S. Senator John McCain and filmmaker Robert Redford.