2023 EXCELLENCE IN CRAFT AWARD WINNERS
CONSERVATION or NATURE
(Sponsored by The Pew Charitable Trusts)
BLOG
- First Place: What’s the Weirdest Animal Courtship? Here Are 4 Candidates, Christine Peterson (Cool Green Science)
- Second Place: Meet the World’s Largest Crab, Matthew L. Miller (Cool Green Science)
- Third Place: Wildlife Bedtime: Weird Nesting Habits of North American Wildlife, Christine Peterson (Cool Green Science)
MAGAZINE
- First Place: Meet Florida’s Most Adorable Rodent and the Superfans Determined to Save It, Karuna Eberl (Atlas Obscura)
- Second Place: The Bucks Stop Here, Ted Williams (Earth Island Journal)
- Third Place: Packed, Kris Millgate (Hook and Barrel)
NEWSPAPER
- First Place: They’re taking everything’: Banned in other states, pogy ships catch all they want in Louisiana, Tristan Baurick (The Times-Picayune)
- Second Place: What a huge lily pad can teach us about building design, Richard Sima (National Geographic)
- Third Place: Ignorant good Samaritans kill two North Idaho moose, Eli Francovich (The Spokesman Review)
RADIO/PODCAST
- First Place: Minnesota DNR Loon Monitoring Program, Kalli Hawkins (WTIP Community Radio – Grand Marais, MN)
- Second Place: Arkansas Wildlife Podcast Episode 7: The Ethics of Modern Technology in Hunting and Fishing, Trey Reid (AGFC.com)
- Third Place: Arkansas Wildlife Podcast Episode 1: Timber Management, Trey Reid (AGFC.com)
TV/VIDEO/WEBCAST
- First Place: 2022 Lone Star Land Steward: Wagley Ranch, Karen Loke (Texas Parks and Wildlife PBS)
- Second Place: Spread Creek, Joshua Duplechian (Trout Unlimited)
- Third Place: AIS Sails, Bill Sherck (KARE 11 NBC “Minnesota Bound”)
FAMILY PARTICIPATION/YOUTH OUTDOOR EDUCATION
(Sponsored by Recreational Boating & Fishing Foundation)
BLOG
- First Place: Condor Spotting: Wildlife Watching and Optimism, Matthew L. Miller (Cool Green Science)
- Second Place: The Right Foundation, Derrick Z. Jackson & Michelle Holmes (A.T. Journeys)
- Third Place: Can Your Children Inherit Your Healthy Love of Nature? Yup., Candice Gaukel Andrews (Good Nature Travel Blog)
MAGAZINE
- First Place: A letter to my daughter: When the world feels on the brink of collapse, can a child bring us back?, Christine Peterson (TROUT)
- Second Place: Thanksgiving, Chris Madson (DUCKS UNLIMITED)
- Third Place: Cattin’ with the grandkids, Brent Frazee (Catfish NOW)
NEWSPAPER
- First Place: Taking the baby out in the snow? How to keep your little ones warm on winter outings, Gregory Scruggs (Seattle Times)
- Second Place: Kirkland teen who trains on Cascade rivers heads to freestyle kayak world championships, Gregory Scruggs (The Seattle Times)
- Third Place: Tea for Two, Ben Moyer (Uniontown Herald Standard)
PHOTOGRAPHY
- First Place: On the Edge, James Smedley (Algoma Country 2022 Partnership Package)
- Second Place: Overlook, Mark Aiken (Here in Hanover magazine)
- Third Place: In Grandpa’s Steps, Tom Carney (Woods-n-Water News)
RADIO/PODCAST
- First Place: Outdoor Afro and Nature Swag with Rue Mapp, John Kruse (America Outdoors Radio Network)
- Second Place: Jeff Gray, Superintendent at the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary – Episode 4070, Howard Fox (Outdoor Adventure Series)
- Third Place: Tracy Hajduk, National Education Coordinator for the NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries – Episode 4086, Howard Fox (Outdoor Adventure Series)
TV/VIDEO/WEBCAST
- First Place: The Spark – The Story of Emily’s First Turkey, Blake Podhajsky (Outdoor Oklahoma television show; Broadcast on OETA, Oklahoma’s statewide PBS network)
- Second Place: Ashley Bredemus, Anna Kohls (KARE 11 NBC)
- Third Place: Passing on a Hunting Tradition – Short Film, Richy J. Harrod (The Northwest Outdoorsmen; Harrod Outdoors Channel)
FISHING
BLOG
- First Place: Fishing for Science on Palmyra Atoll, Matthew L. Miller (Cool Green Science)
- Second Place: Bass fishing and good parents were his ticket out of the inner-city, Brent Frazee (Your Bass Guy)
- Third Place: Takahiro Omori is living the American Dream, Brent Frazee (Your Bass Guy)
MAGAZINE
- First Place: Trout Fishing in the West Isn’t Doomed—If You’re Willing to Work for It, Christine Peterson (Outdoor Life)
- Second Place: Future After Failure, Kris Millgate (TROUT)
- Third Place: Atlantic Bluefin Tuna & Coastal Fishing in Ireland, Anietra Hamper (Planetware)
NEWSPAPER
- First Place: Going Deep: Snowshoe to Square Tail, James Smedley (The Sault Star)
- Second Place: Two-stepping with trout on the Williamson, Mark Freeman (Mail Tribune)
- Third Place: Dancing with the stars … for tuna, Bill Monroe (Oregon Live: The Oregonian)
RADIO/PODCAST
- First Place: East Coast/West Coast Showdown Episode, Deborah Hanson (Southwest Florida on 98.1 FM/770 AM)
- Second Place: PODCAST INTERVIEW: Imperfect Texan Buddha Steve Ramirez (Pt I), Marvin Cash (The Articulate Fly Podcast RSS Feed and Website)
- Third Place: Reel Talk Radio – Is There an “X-Factor” in Fishing?, Deborah Hanson (Southwest Florida on 98.1 FM/770 AM)
TV/VIDEO/WEBCAST
- First Place: Veterans on the Water, Kyle Heidenreich (KARE 11 NBC)
- Second Place: Learning to Fish Stream Trout, Dan Small (National Wild Turkey Federation website)
- Third Place: Fly Fishing Kadunce River, Anna Kohls (KARE 11-NBC)
GEAR/TECHNICAL
BLOG
- First Place: Made Together: Outdoor Afro + REI Co-op, Candace Dantes (REI Co-op: Uncommon Path)
- Second Place: Follow the pros’ advice to getting bites, Brent Frazee (Your Bass Guy)
- Third Place: Epic LIVE TARGET Pumpkinseeds, Todd Corayer (Fish Wrap Writer)
MAGAZINE
- First Place: The Road, Traveled, Tom Carney (Woods-n-Water News)
- Second Place: 4-Year Gear Test: Hunting Editor’s Tried-and-True Favorites, Nicole Qualtieri (GearJunkie)
- Third Place: Best Waders for Women of 2023, Christine Peterson (Outdoor Life)
NEWSPAPER
- First Place: Finesse nymphing, Michael Salomone (Vail Daily newspaper)
- Second Place: What you need to know to take a sea kayak on Puget Sound (namely, to get out of the frigid water), Gregory Scruggs (The Seattle Times)
- Third Place: A stark reminder of why PDFs are needed, Steven A. Griffin (Midland [MI] Daily News)
RADIO/PODCAST
- First Place: Episode 5: Learning to Use a Rope to Free your Dog in Tucson, AZ, Web Parton (freerangedogs.com)
- Second Place: Saildrones, Dan Small (Outdoors Radio Network)
- Third Place: Hearing Protection for Shooters, Dan Small (Outdoors Radio Network)
HUMOR
BLOG
- First Place: Memoirs of Hiker Box Meals: The Good, the Bad, and the (Almost) Unmentionable, Andrew Marshall (Appalachian Gear Company blog)
- Second Place: Youth Hunting: Passing on the Tradition to the Next Generation, Shawn Lentz (The Okayest Hunter)
- Third Place: Unscheduled Worden Pond Baptism, Todd Corayer (Fish Wrap Writer)
MAGAZINE
- First Place: Lying for the Cause, Tom Carney (Woods-n-Water News)
- Second Place: Never a Dull Moment, Mike Zlotnicki and Josh Leventhal (Wildlife in North Carolina)
- Third Place: The Great Pumpkin Drop, Matt Crossman (Missouri Life)
NEWSPAPER
- First Place: Don’t be sheer back there, Marty Basch (The Conway Daily Sun)
- Second Place: Blackfish deserve better than their reputation, Luke Ovgard (Herald and News)
- Third Place: Hey, listen to your bike, Marty Basch (The Conway Daily Sun)
HUNTING or SHOOTING SPORTS
(Sponsored by Henry Repeating Arms)
BLOG
- First Place: Last second shot 16 years in the making, Randy Zellers (Arkansas Wildlife Weeekly Newsletter)
- Second Place: Hunters of Color: Helping Build Bridges over the Barriers to Hunting, Megan Postol (Wide Open Spaces)
- Third Place: Q&A with the Nontypical Outdoorsman Eric Morris, Megan Postol (Wide Open Spaces)
MAGAZINE
- First Place: Mike Hester’s Dogged Pursuit, Russell Worth Parker (Garden and Gun Magazine)
- Second Place: So You Want to Hunt Birds?, Dave Zoby (Gray’s Sporting Journal)
- Third Place: Rue Mapp is Learning to Hunt, But She’s got a Bigger Mission, Christine Peterson (Outdoor Life)
NEWSPAPER
- First Place: A Little on “Two-Fers” and Doubles, Dan Small (Wisconsin Outdoor News)
- Second Place: Cold Hoosier Holiday, Lew Freedman (Seymour [Indiana] Tribune)
- Third Place: States wrestling with rules for trail cams, Brent Frazee (The Joplin Globe)
RADIO/PODCAST
- First Place: Idaho Hunts to Remember with Jason Brooks, John Kruse (Northwestern Outdoors Radio Network)
- Second Place: Episode 8: Bret Wonnacott and the One True Dog- the English Setter, Web Parton (freerangedogs.com)
- Third Place: Emu-Assisted Deer Hunt, Dan Small (Outdoors Radio Network)
TV/VIDEO/WEBCAST
- First Place: Arkansas Wildlife TV: Seven Devils Legacy, Trey Reid (KATV-7 in Little Rock, Arkansas and YouTube)
- Second Place: The Spark (The Story of Emily’s First Turkey), Blake Podhajsky (Outdoor Oklahoma television show; broadcast on OETA, Oklahoma’s statewide PBS network)
- Third Place: Federal’s 100th Year, Ron Schara (KARE-11 NBC/Mpls. MN. market)
OUTDOOR ADVENTURE
BLOG
- First Place: Wildlife Sightings: Share or Stay Quiet?, Matthew L. Miller (Cool Green Science)
- Second Place: Running with the wind – the wild horses of Shackleford Banks, Michael Hodgson (HI Travel Tales)
- Third Place: The Right Foundation, Derrick Z. Jackson & Michelle D. Holmes (A.T. Journeys)
MAGAZINE
- First Place: The Heart of the Appalachian Trail, Andrew Marshall (Virginia Economic Review)
- Second Place: In the Company of Wolves, Robert Annis (Departures)
- Third Place: Hunt for the Bat Falcon, Russell Roe (Texas Parks & Wildlife magazine)
NEWSPAPER
- First Place: I’m here to be visible’, Mark Freeman (Medford [Oregon] Mail Tribune)
- Second Place: Great Smokies, Roy Heilman (Mankato Free Press)
- Third Place: How Bellingham became a hotbed for mountain biking, Gregory Scruggs (The Seattle Times)
RADIO/PODCAST
- First Place: The Disabled Hikers Guide, John Kruse (Northwestern Outdoors Radio Network)
- Second Place: Tim Geisler and Nautilus Sailing can teach you to sail in a week and you’ll have a great time doing it! [EP 335], Rick Saez (The Outdoor Biz Podcast)
- Third Place: Outdoor Journalist Rob Annis tells us what it’s like to write for a living and offers up some great stories and tips [EP 342], Rick Saez (Outdoor Biz Podcast)
TV/VIDEO/WEBCAST
- First Place: Wildlife Photographer: The Life of Karl Maslowski, Steve Maslowski (WCET [PBS Cincinnati], KET [PBS Kentucky])
- Second Place: Cold Kab Winter Camp!, Bill Sherck (KARE11 NBC Minnesota Bound)
- Third Place: Mushroom hunt, Mark Freeman (Mail Tribune)
PHOTOGRAPHY
- First Place: Three Canoes on Superior, James Smedley (The Sault Star)
- Second Place: Zipper, Paul Queneau (Outdoors Unlimited)
- Third Place: Glacier Kayak, Robert Annis (Rails to Trails Magazine)
BOOKS
(Sponsored by Friesens Publishing)
GENERAL AUDIENCE
- First Place: This America of Ours: Bernard and Avis DeVoto and the Forgotten Fight to Save the Wild, Nate Schweber (HarperCollins [Mariner])
- Second Place: Wildflowers of Shenandoah National Park, Ann & Rob Simpson (Falcon Guides)
- Third Place: Casting Onward: Fishing Adventures in Search of America’s Native Gamefish, Steve Ramirez (Lyons Press)
GRAPHIC/ILLUSTRATION
- First Place: 2023 AGFC Black Bear License Plate, Greta James (Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration, Department of Motor Vehicles)
- Second Place: Tough Day Ahead, Sam Caldwell (Coastal Conservation Association- CURRENTS Newsletter)
- Third Place: Two Goats, Andrew Marshall (Backpacking Light)
COLUMN
- First Place: Trout Talk, Kirk Deeter (Trout Unlimited)
- Second Place: The Things We Leave Behind, Stuff in the Basement, A Spot of Time; in the Seasonable Angler column, Steve Ramirez (Fly Fisherman Magazine)
- Third Place: Tailfeathers, Tom Carney (The Upland Almanac)
PHOTO ESSAY
- First Place: On the Water, Joshua Duplechian (TROUT Magazine)
- Second Place: Nine by the Fish Guy, Christopher Paparo (The Express Magazine)
- Third Place: Death of a wildebeest: Great Migration crocodile attack, Michael Hodgson (HI Travel Tales)
PHOTOGRAPHY
ACTION
- First Place: So Sorry, Saury, Derrick Z. Jackson (The Maine Monitor)
- Second Place: Haddock Breakfast, Derrick Z. Jackson (The Union of Concerned Scientists Blog)
- Third Place: Running with the wind, Michael Hodgson (HI Travel Tales)
FAUNA
- First Place: Loon Lift, Derrick Z. Jackson (A.T. Journeys Magazine)
- Second Place: Whitetail Deer, Odocoileus virginianus, fawn, baby, in Golden Ragwort, Big Meadows, Shenandoah National Park, Virginia, Ann Simpson (Wildflowers of Shenandoah National Park – Ann and Rob Simpson, 2nd ed.; 2022. A complete revision)
- Third Place: Queen of the Mara, Michael Hodgson (HI Travel Tales)
FLORA
- First Place: Bubbles in grass kelp, Colleen Miniuk (“Photographing Acadia National Park: The Essential Guide to When, Where, and How” guidebook [page 191])
- Second Place: Large Yellow Lady’s Slipper, Cypripedium pubescens, Shenandoah National Park, VA, Ann Simpson (Wildflowers of Shenandoah National Park – Ann and Rob Simpson, 2nd ed.; 2022. A complete revision.)
- Third Place: Red Trillium, Trillium erectum, Ann Simpson (Wildflowers of Shenandoah National Park – Ann and Rob Simpson, 2nd ed.; 2022. A complete revision)
PEOPLE
- First Place: Serving lunch, James Smedley (Northern Ontario Travel)
- Second Place: Hat’s Off, Paul Queneau (Outdoors Unlimited)
- Third Place: Lillian’s Trout, James Smedley (Northern Ontario Travel)
SCENIC
- First Place: Early Light at Falls Creek Falls, Carmen M Alex (Art on a Whim Gallery)
- Second Place: Nankoweap and the Colorado River, Grand Canyon National Park, Colleen Miniuk (CMS Photography Workshops)
- Third Place: Last Light, Carmen M Alex (Art on a Whim Gallery)
OPEN
- First Place: Outdoor Afro’s “Year of Operations”, Candace Dantes (Outdoor Afro: 2022 Annual Report)
- Second Place: The North Shore of Minnesota, Amanda Zerebko (Roamie)
- Third Place: Full Circle, Mark Freeman (Medford [Oregon] Mail Tribune)
PRESIDENT’S CHOICE AWARDS
BLOG
- Condor Spotting: Wildlife Watching and Optimism, Matthew L. Miller (Cool Green Science)
MAGAZINE
- Mike Hester’s Dogged Pursuit, Russell Worth Parker (Garden and Gun Magazine)
NEWSPAPER
I’m here to be visible’, Mark Freeman (Medford [Oregon] Mail Tribune)
PHOTOGRAPHY
- So Sorry, Saury, Derrick Z. Jackson (The Maine Monitor)
RADIO/PODCAST
Outdoor Afro and Nature Swag with Rue Mapp, John Kruse (America Outdoors Radio Network)
TV/VIDEO/WEBCAST
Wildlife Photographer: The Life of Karl Maslowski, Steve Maslowski (WCET [PBS Cincinnati], KET [PBS Kentucky])