April 2, 2009

Nevada Senator Harry Reid accepts the William Penn Mott Leadership Award from the National Park Conservation Association President Tom Kiernan and Vice President Craig Obey.

Washington, D.C. – Nevada Senator Harry Reid was awarded the William Penn Mott Leadership Award by the National Park Conservation Association for his hard work on behalf of our nation’s parks. The award is named after William Penn Mott, a great environmentalist and a former director of the National Park Service who worked with Reid in the 1980s to create Great Basin National Park.

In addition to creating Great Basin, Nevada’s first and only national park, Reid also led the passage of the Omnibus Lands Bill, which created three new units of the park system, and the designation of wilderness within the Lake Mead National Recreation Area. In fact, earlier this week Reid stood next to President Obama as he signed the most significant conservation bill in 15 years.

“Creating national parks and setting aside wildlands for public enjoyment is a uniquely American idea. National parks have now been created all over the world, but they started here in the United States with President Abraham Lincoln and the area we now know as Yosemite National Park,” Reid said. “Through these actions we leave our children and grandchildren the opportunity to see full bounty of nature. It is a great honor to receive this award, and to have the privilege to work with the people of Nevada to protect some our state’s most wild and sacred areas.”