Habitat Preservation Award Winners
John R. van Nagell, jt-MFH of the Iroquois Hunt, accepted the Hunting Habitat Preservation Award, sponsored by The Chronicle of the Horse, at the Masters of Foxhounds Association annual meeting in New York City on January 28. Margaret Graves (second right), executive director of the Bluegrass Conservancy, and Lucy Breathitt (second left), a long-time Iroquois subscriber and board member of the Blue Grass Conservancy, joined him to accept the trophy. The leaders of the Iroquois and the Bluegrass Conservancy have worked together, and with the local and state government and other organizations, to permanently preserve thousands of acres of farmland and woodland around Lexington, Kentucky. Former MFHA President, J.W.Y. Martin Jr. (far left) and Chronicle editor John Strassburger (far right) presented the trophy. - The Chronicle of the Horse

This award is locally and nationally significant because there is no greater threat to our sport than the loss of hunting venue; no more painful loss than the serenity and peace provided by the pastoral scene. The MFHA Conservation Committee believes that there is no greater injustice than not to recognize those people and organizations that toil to keep us close to the land and the wild animals that enhance our very existence. Nominees for this prestigious award must explain how they met seven guidelines established by the MFHA Conservation Committee who want to recognize those foxhunting clubs, individuals and organizations that have made significant and enduring contributions towards the preservation of rural countryside and its flora and fauna.

Members of the Iroquois Hunt have contributed a great deal to fostering and maintaining conservation by placing easements on large amounts of land. They have provided educational programs concerning all aspects of conservation to landowners and farmers in central Kentucky, young riders and local and national Pony Club members and their parents. Also members have actively participated in the leadership of a number of conservancy organizations including the American Farmland Trust, The Bluegrass Conservancy, Equestrian Land Conservation Resource, the Fayette County Farm Bureau, the Rural Land Management Board, the Land and Nature Trust, the Dry Stone Conservancy, the Kentucky Natural Lands Trust, and the Kentucky State Nature Preserves Commission. Working with all these local, regional and national conservation organizations, IHC members have helped promote land and wildlife conservation.

Congratulations to all who have contributed their time and resources to land and wildlife preservation.