The San Diego Zoo is asking for the public to help with nominations for its highest honor, The Zoological Society of San Diego’s Conservation Medal. The winner of one of the three categories of the award, the Lifetime Achievement Award, has been decided. However, the Conservation in Action and the Conservation Advocacy and Philanthropy categories remain unfilled, and the public can assist by logging on to sandiegozoo.org, starting July 17, and nominating a worthy individual in either field.

In the field of Lifetime Achievement, the San Diego Zoo will honor J. Michael Fay an ecologist and explorer with the Wildlife Conservation Society and National Geographic Society. Perhaps best known for his MegaTransect and MegaFlyover of Africa, Fay’s efforts have resulted in the protection of large land areas of Western Africa and an increased knowledge of this sensitive area. Currently Fay is engaged in a yearlong, 700-mile hike through California's redwood forests as part of an effort called the Redwood Transect. Fay is working to collect data and document the state of the forest, helping to call attention to this one-of-a-kind ecosystem. Fay will receive the award in a ceremony in Spring 2009.

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The ceremony will also honor the winners in the two remaining categories, with input on the nominations from the public.

"The San Diego Zoo’s Conservation Medal has a long history of selecting top conservationists to honor."said Mark Stuart, president of the Foundation for the Zoological Society. "Michael Faye is a perfect example of the type of conservation leadership which we wish to award and we are opening nominations for the remaining categories in the hopes that we can find some unsung conservation heroes to highlight."

The 100-acre San Diego Zoo is operated by the not-for-profit Zoological Society of San Diego. The Zoological Society, dedicated to the conservation of endangered species and their habitats, engages in conservation and research work around the globe and is responsible for maintaining accredited horticultural, animal, library, and photo collections. The Zoological Society also manages the 1,800-acre San Diego Zoo's Wild Animal Park (more than half of which has been set aside as protected native species habitat) and the San Diego Zoo’s Beckman Center for Conservation Research. The important conservation and science work of these entities is supported in part by the Foundation for the Zoological Society of San Diego.

Contact Info: Christina Simmons
(619) 685-3291

Website : San Diego Zoo