Audubon Texas is worked up to announce the 2026 Texas Girls in Conservation Honorees: Pamela Reese, Lydia Saldaña, and Shelly Plante. These exceptional leaders are acknowledged for his or her excellent contributions to defending Texas’s pure assets and advancing conservation throughout the state.
Now in its eleventh 12 months, the Texas Girls in Conservation Program honors girls whose work has left a long-lasting mark on the Texas panorama. Honorees are chosen by means of an open nomination course of and reviewed by a distinguished steering committee of conservation leaders from throughout the state. Every honoree receives the Terry Hershey Award, named after the late conservationist who devoted a lot of her life to ecological conservation efforts in Houston and all through Texas. Terry Hershey was generally known as a trailblazer within the subject for her fierce advocacy, devoted volunteerism, and steadfast work to enhance the Texas setting for the good thing about wildlife and folks.
The 2026 honorees embody the spirit of Audubon’s mission by defending working lands, restoring resilient coastal ecosystems, advancing local weather options, and creating bird-friendly communities, work that strengthens Texas’s connection to broader conservation efforts throughout the Americas.
“We’re so thrilled to honor these unimaginable girls who’ve devoted themselves to conservation and environmental stewardship,” stated Audubon Texas Vice President and Government Director Lisa Gonzalez. “True management in conservation is measured not simply by the habitats restored or insurance policies formed, however by the generations impressed. These honorees embody the braveness, dedication, and imaginative and prescient wanted to guard Texas’s pure legacy—and to mild the way in which for individuals who will observe.”
By means of neighborhood collaboration and a shared goal, the 2026 Texas Girls in Conservation mirror Audubon’s imaginative and prescient: to create a more healthy, extra resilient future for birds, folks, and the locations we share.
Extra data on present and former honorees might be discovered here.
Nominations at the moment are open for the 2027 Texas Girls in Conservation Terry Hershey Award. Have you learnt somebody who’s making a big impression in defending and restoring our pure world? Submit an software, out there here earlier than January 18, 2027.
Transient Biographies of the 2026 Texas Girls in Conservation Honorees
Pamela Reese is a distinguished conservation chief, philanthropist, and advocate whose a long time of service have helped form the conservation motion throughout Texas. Because the founding president of the Hill Nation Alliance Board of Administrators, she established one in all Texas’ most influential voices for safeguarding the Hill Nation’s land, water, wildlife, darkish skies, and rural heritage. By means of each her private philanthropy and management of the Reese Basis, she has championed a broad community of conservation organizations, together with The Nature Conservancy, Texas Land Conservancy, Westcave Protect, the Colorado River Alliance, Shoal Creek Conservancy, the Wimberley Valley Watershed Affiliation, the Trinity Edwards Springs Safety Affiliation, the Nationwide Wildlife Federation, Austin Parks Basis, Austin Path Basis, and the Cibolo Nature Heart, amongst others working to safeguard Texas’ pure assets and join communities to the outside. Collectively along with her husband, Mike, she positioned their Hill Nation ranch below a conservation easement with The Nature Conservancy, guaranteeing the everlasting safety of ecologically vital land from future improvement.
Lydia Saldaña is a distinguished chief in conservation communications, having formed public engagement for Texas wildlife, habitats, and public lands by means of her roles as Communications Director for each the Texas Parks and Wildlife Division and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Basis. Lydia has led impactful statewide campaigns that raised consciousness of habitat safety and land stewardship, directed multimedia and
fundraising initiatives, and constructed strategic partnerships to assist conservation. Her experience in storytelling and outreach has strengthened public understanding and philanthropic assist for conservation efforts. Moreover, Lydia has consulted for organizations such because the Borderlands Analysis Institute, and produced quite a few movies celebrating Texas Girls in Conservation, additional amplifying the attain and impression of conservation initiatives statewide.
Shelly Plante is a devoted conservation chief and advocate for nature-based tourism, serving because the Nature Tourism Supervisor for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Division, the place she is devoted to connecting folks with nature and advancing community-based conservation. By means of her management, Shelly has managed key packages such because the Nice Texas Wildlife Trails, the Nice Texas Birding Basic—which has raised over $1.34 million for conservation grants—Texas Paddling Trails, and the Texas Pollinator BioBlitz. She is acknowledged for her dedication to schooling, partnerships, and outreach, working intently with landowners, native communities, and college students as an adjunct professor at Texas State College. Shelly’s collaborative strategy and advocacy, together with her position in supporting the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act, have made her a driving pressure in nature tourism and conservation throughout Texas.
