Ralph W. Abele
Conservation Heritage Award

1994 Recipient

Leonard A. Green

The Fish and Boat Commission selected Leonard A. Green as the 1994 winner of its highest honor, the Ralph W. Abele Conservation Heritage Award. Green, a former member of the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, died in Butler, Pennsylvania on March 28, 2000. He was seventy years old.

The Fish and Boat Commission dedicated the Leonard A. Green Memorial Grove in ceremonies on October 25, 2000. A grove of trees on the Commission's 430-acre tract along Penns Creek has been set aside as a living memorial to the late Leonard A. Green. "Green's Grove" is part of the Ralph W. Abele Memorial Glen.

Len was truly one of Pennsylvania's conservation giants. He spent more than 50 years as a dedicated volunteer in various roles. He headed more than a dozen conservation organizations at one time or another. More than the various roles he served, Len was a mentor to many young people. He believed that it was his duty to educate, recruit and empower others to make a difference for conservation.

His life was marked by exceptional community involvement and support for conservation. He served as chairman and as a member of the Board of Directors of the National Wildlife Federation. He was past chairman of the Pennsylvania Wildlife Federation and past president of the Pennsylvania Federation of Sportsmen's Clubs. He was a past president and board member of the Pennsylvania Forestry Association.

Leonard Green served as the member of the Fish and Boat Commission, Sixth District, from 1975 until 1991. He was a key player in the development of the resource-based policies and programs known as OPERATION FUTURE. A conservation leader of state and national importance, Len Green was a strong supporter of Ralph Abele's "Resource First" philosophy that has guided the Commission and its staff for many years.

Because of his long and deep involvement in clean streams issues, he was appointed to the Citizens Advisory Council of the newly created Department of Environmental Resources in 1971. He served on the Citizens Advisory Council from 1971 until 1993, and he regularly served as a Citizens Advisory Council representative on the Environmental Quality Board.

Among the many organizations to which he devoted volunteer support were the Pennsylvania Environmental Council, Carlisle Fish & Game Association, Hawk Mt. Sanctuary, William Baer Conservation Memorial Fund, Scott Eckert Conservation Scholarship Fund, Cumberland County Conservation School, Butler County Junior Conservation Camp, Cumberland County Sportsmen's & Conservation Association, Cumberland County Conservancy, Letort Regional Authority, Cumberland County Solid Waste Authority, and the Keystone Area BSA Executive Council. He also served as Pennsylvania Deputy Game Protector. Len Green also served in the capacity as Board Member and Past President of the Butler Area Chamber of Commerce. He chaired fund drives for United Way, the Hospital Building Fund, Y.M.C.A., Boy Scouts of America and the Salvation Army. He has been recognized as a Board Member and Past Chairman of the Butler Junior Achievement and as a Board member of the Carlisle Area Junior Achievement Programs. He served as a Founding Advisor of Explorer Post 100 Conservation Boy Scout Career Post. In scouting, he also served as a member of Executive Council, Keystone Area Council, Boy Scouts of America.

His work in conservation education and with conservation camps was exemplary. Len Green's interests spanned a wide range of conservation, environmental and preservation concerns. His devotion to fisheries, forestry, conservation and natural resources cannot be overstated. He lived the Conservation Pledge.

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