For the first time in nearly two decades, the Ice Age Trail Alliance will bestow the prestigious Henry S. Reuss Award. This year’s recipient is state representative Amy Loudenbeck (R-Clinton).
“Representative Loudenbeck has been a staunch supporter of the Ice Age Trail and the Alliance,” says Kevin Thusius, Director of Land Conservation for the Ice Age Trail Alliance. “As a result, she’s championed the primary source for funding land protection of the Trail: the State’s Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program.”
As a member of the Joint Finance Committee for the past four budgets, Rep. Loudenbeck has made it a priority to keep the Stewardship Program in place and authored a plan to help reduce borrowing while maintaining current funding levels. Rep. Loudenbeck and her staff worked with and communicated with stakeholders regularly to share information about the unique assets and intricacies of how various programs work to safeguard priorities like the Ice Age Trail.
“She’s willing to fight for the Trail in the legislature and protect Wisconsin’s important landscapes,” says Thusius.
“I’ve had a great relationship with the Ice Age Trail Alliance and I’m honored to receive this prestigious award,” says Loudenbeck. “I appreciate the Alliance’s dedication to the Ice Age Trail. Their work has a positive impact across Wisconsin and their pro-active support and advocacy were incredibly helpful to ensuring a successful reauthorization of the Stewardship Program.”
The award is named in honor of the late U.S. Congressman who was instrumental in securing the Ice Age Trail’s status as a National Scenic Trail. It is given to an individual whose work through government channels at multiple levels has made a significant impact on the Ice Age National Scenic Trail. The award emphasizes the recipient’s ability to move influential parties to take an active role in the Alliance’s mission, which is to conserve, create, maintain, and promote the Trail.
Nominations for the award come from Ice Age Trail Alliance volunteers or staff members, and are voted on by the Ice Age Trail Alliance Award committee.
The last recipient of this award was now U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin in 2004.
