Indianapolis Prize

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The Indianapolis Prize is the world's leading award for animal conservation. The Indianapolis Prize includes a US$100,000 cash award and the Lilly Medal, which are presented every two years to a conservationist who has made substantial contributions toward the sustainability of an animal species or group of species.

The Indianapolis Prize represents the largest individual monetary award for animal conservation in the world and will be given as an unrestricted gift to the chosen honoree.

The Indianapolis Prize is one part of a broad-based conservation initiative being undertaken by the Indianapolis Zoo. The Eli Lilly and Company Foundation has taken the first step by pledging startup funding for the Indianapolis Prize, and in addition to the $100,000 cash, the winner will receive the Lilly Medal.

Contents 1 Nomination 1.1 Nomination Committee 2 Current Candidates 3 Jury and Selection 4 Indianapolis Prize Executive Committee

[edit] Nomination

Individuals who are recognized scientific and conservation sector experts serve on the Indianapolis Prize Nominating Committee and Award Jury.

Both the Nominating Committee and the Jury consider the following:

• Significance of an achievement or achievements in the conservation of an animal species or multiple species
• The measurable outcomes resulting from the nominee’s work
• The quality of science involved
• The number of years the individual has dedicated to the aspect of conservation work under evaluation (this includes consideration of any fieldwork which the individual has participated in or led, although fieldwork is not a specified requirement)
• The unselfish dedication to conservation work that the individual has shown throughout his or her career
• The spirit of cooperation the individual has demonstrated with zoological and other like-minded conservation institutions, especially those not directly affiliated with any organization for which the nominee works.

[edit] Nomination Committee

• Honorary Chair – Roger Sant, Chairman Emeritus, AES Corporation.

• Dr. E. O. Wilson – Pellegrino University Research Professor and Honorary Curator in Entomology of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University.

• Dr. Steven M. Paul – Executive Vice President for Science and Technology, President of Lilly Research Laboratories, a Division of Eli Lilly and Company.

• Dr. Mark Stanley Price – Executive Director, Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust.

• Russell A. Mittermeier, President, Conservation International.

• Deborah Olson – Director of Science and Conservation, Indianapolis Zoo.

[edit] Current Candidates

Finalists for the 2006 prize include George W. Archibald, Iain Douglas-Hamilton, Holly T. Dublin, L. David Mech, Roger Payne and Simon Stuart. An international jury selected finalists from more than 50 of the world’s preeminent animal conservationist nominees:

• George W. Archibald, Ph.D. The future of many crane species was once as fragile as these delicate and graceful birds themselves. But George W. Archibald’s visionary leadership in international conservation efforts has for more than 30 years given flight to the hope for preserving cranes worldwide. Co-founder of the International Crane Foundation in Baraboo, Wisconsin, Archibald has used his charisma, diplomacy and ability to mobilize and motivate others to conserve migratory birds by preserving wetland and grassland ecosystems across five continents. Considered a conservation icon by his peers, Archibald currently chairs the World Conservation Union (IUCN) Species Survival Commission’s Crane Specialist Group. His pioneering work led to the breeding of several species of cranes in human care, followed by managing healthy captive populations that can be re-introduced to the wild. He has been heavily involved with the project to re-establish a migratory flock of endangered whooping cranes in the eastern U.S. Human caretakers, wearing costumes and puppets that resemble adult whooping cranes, raise chicks that are then led by ultra-light aircraft along a migration route from Wisconsin to Florida. Through his work, these stately symbols of good luck and long life are once again established in their historic nesting grounds. Archibald has authored dozens of publications, holds myriad professional affiliations and is the recipient of many honors and awards, most notably the Wildlife Conservation Medal from the Zoological Society of San Diego.

• Holly T. Dublin, Ph.D. Dr. Holly Dublin is the chair of the IUCN’s Species Survival Commission (SSC), the largest and probably the most pivotal group of experts among the world’s largest and most important conservation network. This unique worldwide partnership includes 82 States, 111 government agencies, more than 800 non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and some 10,000 scientists and experts from 181 countries. After spending more than 30 years in her individual efforts to conserve the wildlife of her adopted home in Africa, American Holly Dublin accepted the challenge of directing the work of the more than 7,000 volunteers in the SSC as they strive to conserve the Earth’s threatened and endangered animals and plants. Members include researchers, government officials, wildlife veterinarians, zoo and botanical institute employees, marine biologists, protected area managers, and experts on plants, birds, mammals, fish, amphibians, reptiles and invertebrates. In her own career, Dublin heads the African Elephant Specialist Group and it was through her efforts that the most sophisticated and comprehensive African elephant GIS/database in the world was developed. Holly moves with ease between the day-to-day realities and concerns of conservation practitioners and the world of international policy, its financiers and decision-makers. A skilled writer and orator, Holly Dublin gives voice to the threatened animals in the world.

• Iain Douglas-Hamilton, Ph.D. OBE To most people, being squashed by a rhino, shot at by ivory poachers, having their car spindled by elephant’s tusks, and suffering malaria, bilharzias, hepatitis and numerous plane crashes may sound like something out of the movies. But for Iain Douglas-Hamilton, facing these hardships are all part of his life’s work to save elephants from being slaughtered. Known as one of the world’s foremost authorities on elephant conservation, Douglas-Hamilton founded and serves as CEO of Save the Elephants in Nairobi, Kenya, a trust with the mission to secure a future for African elephants. Through his pioneering scientific research and leadership, Douglas-Hamilton has shaped numerous “best practices” in the field – he made the first study of social behavior of wild elephants more than 30 years ago, introduced behavioral ecology to elephant conservation through precise monitoring of elephant populations, helped inspire the first pan-African elephant population registers, initiated the first GIS African elephant database, and pioneered GPS elephant tracking. Douglas-Hamilton also is widely credited with influencing the worldwide ban on the ivory trade through his numerous documentaries and films that have brought the story of Africa’s threatened wildlife to the forefront of public opinion. Recently, he was a scientific consultant for Discovery’s IMAX feature movie “Africa’s Elephant Kingdom,” and in 2001, he was awarded the Dawkins Prize for Conservation and Animal Welfare in Oxford.

• L. David Mech, Ph.D. Unjustifiably feared and slaughtered for hundreds of years, they became among America’s most endangered creatures. Wolves – fascinating, complex, and still often misunderstood – are the life’s work of L. David Mech, the world’s leading authority on these apex predators. A pioneer in the ecology, behavior and physiology of wolves, Mech has spent an unsurpassed 45 years of intensive research learning every detail of wolf life, becoming himself a member of the pack. Founder of the International Wolf Center in Ely, Minn., his primary research is studying wolf population trends and wolf-deer interactions in the Superior National Forest of Minnesota, wolf social behavior on Ellersmere Island in Canada and wolf-elk interactions in Yellowstone National Park. With hundreds of scientific articles, 10 books and more than a hundred articles in the popular press to his credit, Mech stands alone as the leading wolf conservationist. Dr. Mech's work was recently featured in a special report on WCCO-TV in Minneapolis. Click here to watch Dr. Mech in action!

• Roger Payne, Ph.D. To the human ear, they sound both alien and mournful. Each one is unique, lasts for hours and travels thousands of miles across the vast depths of the world’s oceans. They are the songs of whales, the largest mammals in the sea, and the world’s leading expert in them is Roger Payne. Spanning more than four decades, Payne’s pioneering work on whale sounds has sparked public concern for these magnificent animals, giving birth to the “save the whales” movement and his landmark recording, “Songs of the Humpback Whale,” found its way into the hearts and homes of people throughout the world. Today, Payne is the president and founder of the Massachusetts-based Ocean Alliance, an organization devoted to the advancement of whale studies. He mentors dozens of today’s researchers and is recognized worldwide for his work as the senior scientist on the Voyage of the Odyssey, a multi-year global scientific and educational expedition studying whales and ocean pollution.

• Simon Stuart, Ph.D. They are among the best bell weather animals on Earth, and when something affects them, something is dreadfully wrong with the environment. They are the amphibians – frogs, toads, salamanders and newts – all with highly permeable skin that is sensitive to even the most subtle change in their habitats. Thanks to Dr. Simon Stuart, the world now knows what threats to the globe foretold by the amphibians may lay ahead. Stuart, a long time researcher and expert with the IUCN, has spent the last five years of his distinguished career cataloging a frightening story of species degradation. Thanks to the Global Amphibian Assessment project spearheaded by Stuart, we know that of nearly 6,000 amphibian species, nearly 2,000 are threatened with extinction, over 400 species are critically endangered, 43 percent of all species are declining while only one percent are increasing, and 123 species have undoubtedly disappeared forever. The scale of the problem is unprecedented, and now that the alarm has been raised by Simon Stuart, the world may yet come to understand that we may owe our future to a frog.

[edit] Jury and Selection

The Indianapolis Prize Jury will select the winner of the Prize from among six finalists chosen by the Nominating Committee. Jury members represent an outstanding group of individuals dedicated to the cause of conservation worldwide. The Jury includes:

• Chair - Dr. Bryan G. Norton (United States), professor of philosophy at Georgia Institute of Technology and philosophy and ethics representative of the Society for Conservation Biology
• Dr. Ian Player (South Africa), founder of the Wilderness Foundation in South Africa and creator of the World Wilderness Congress
• Dr. Daniel Pauly (Canada), professor and director of the Fisheries Centre at the University of British Columbia and winner of the 2001 Murray Newman Award for Excellence in Marine Conservation Research
• Dr. William Conway (United States), former president of the Wildlife Conservation Society, chairman of the AZA Field Conservation Committee and “father” of the American Zoo and Aquarium Association's Species Survival Plan (SSP) program
• Ed McAlister (Australia), chief executive of the Royal Zoological Society of South Australia and president of the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums Council
• Dr. Eric Dinerstein (United States), Chief Scientist of the World Wildlife Fund
• Dr. Charles Bantz (United States), community representative to the Indianapolis Prize and chancellor of the Indiana University/Purdue University at Indianapolis (IUPUI)
• Myrta Pulliam (United States), manager of special projects, Indianapolis Star; chairman, Indianapolis Prize; and board of trustees member, Indianapolis Zoo
• Paul Grayson (United States), executive vice president and COO, Indianapolis Zoo, and responsible for the overall operations of the Indianapolis Zoological Society

The winner of the $100,000 award – the largest international monetary award given to an individual for animal species conservation – will be announced at the AES Corporation Presents the Indianapolis Prize Gala on September 30, 2006, staged at the downtown Indianapolis Marriott Hotel.

[edit] Indianapolis Prize Executive Committee

• Myrta Pulliam, Manager of Special Projects Indianapolis Star Chairman, Indianapolis Prize Chairman, Board of Trustees, Indianapolis Zoo

• Michael I. Crowther, President & CEO Indianapolis Zoo

• Myles Brand, Ph.D., President National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)

• Margot Lacy Eccles, Vice President LDI, Ltd.

• Lori Efroymson-Aguilera, Philanthropist

• Tony George, President & CEO Indianapolis Motor Speedway

• Gene B. Glick, President & CEO Gene B. Glick Company

• Dr. Martin C. Jischke, President Purdue University

• Lacy Johnson, Partner Ice Miller

• Tim McGinley, Managing Partner & Owner House Investments

• James T. Morris, Executive Director The United Nations World Food Programme

• Sam Odle, FACHE, Senior Vice President Clarian Health Partners

• The Honorable Bart Peterson, Mayor City of Indianapolis

• Bren Simon, Businesswoman and Philanthropist

• Jeffrey H. Smulyan, Chairman of the Board EMMIS Communications Corporation