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Middle Tennessee residents win conservation awards




Mt. Juliet residents Jenifer Wisniewski and Philip Ware won conservation awards.SUBMITTED/MainStreet Davidson

Mt. Juliet residents Jenifer Wisniewski and Philip Ware won conservation awards.SUBMITTED/MainStreet Davidson

Mt. Juliet residents Jenifer Wisniewski and Philip Ware were among 15 statewide recipients of conservation awards presented last week by the Tennessee Wildlife Federation.

Wisniewski, the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency’s chief of communications and outreach, was awarded the 56th-annual conservation achievement award.

Wisniewski and her husband, also a TWRA employee, moved to Mt. Juliet in 2018 when she was named to the TWRA position. She previously worked in Georgia’s Natural Resources Division, where she earned a national reputation for her successful innovations.

Wisniewski helps promote interest and participation in the outdoors.

In recent years, hunting declined in Tennessee and nationwide. Under Wisniewski’s guidance, Tennessee had the highest growth in sportsmen licenses sales in the U.S.

Ware, a longtime Mt. Juliet resident, served as a volunteer with the TWRA’s hunter education program for more than three decades. In 2005, he was named the national volunteer of the year in the TWRA’s Region II.

The hunter education program emphasizes firearm safety and hunting ethics. Thanks to the efforts of Ware and other volunteers, hunting-related accidents declined steadily through the years.

The hunter education classes are mandatory for anyone born after Jan. 1, 1969 to get a hunting license. They can be taken online. Information is posted at tnwildlife.org.

Former U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander was also among the awards winners. He was recognized for his longtime advocacy for numerous conservation causes and for leading the way in securing grants to support federal and state programs, including land preservation.

For the second year, the awards were presented virtually due to ongoing COVID-19 restrictions.

A list of all the award winners and other details are available at tnwf.org/56th-annual-conservation-achievement-awards.

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