2006 Salute to the Parks Awards Gala
Protecting America's Heritage

Wednesday, March 29, 2006
The National Building Museum

William Penn Mott Jr. Park Leadership Award

SENATOR DIANNE FEINSTEIN (D-CA), who has served as California's senior senator since 1992, has consistently advocated on behalf of national parks, forests, wilderness areas and other federal lands in California and the rest of the country.  Senator Feinstein sponsored the California Desert Protection Act, which preserved over 7 million acres of California desert, including the Joshua Tree and Death Valley National Parks and the Mojave National Preserve. This was the largest such designation in the history of the continental United States.  She was instrumental in the purchase of 16,500 acres of salt ponds along the shores of San Francisco Bay - the largest such wetlands restoration project in California history.  Senator Feinstein has been a leader in efforts to preserve and restore Lake Tahoe by authorizing $300 million in federal funds over 10 years to match investments by the States of California and Nevada and local authorities.  She also sponsored the CALFED legislation, which authorized $395 million for a balanced program to increase California's water supply, reliability and quality and help restore sensitive water ecosystems.  Senator Feinstein has championed efforts to protect endangered forests from catastrophic fires by expediting the thinning of hazardous fuels and providing the first legal protection for old-growth forests in our nation's history.  She has also sought to combat illegal marijuana cultivation in California's national parks.  She has also joined with Senator John McCain (R-AZ) to alleviate the maintenance backlog that plagues the park service with the National Park Centennial Act.  Most recently, her legislation to add 25,000 acres to the Redwoods National Park and 4,500 acres to the Golden Gate National Recreation Area was signed into law.

Robin W. Winks Award for Enhancing Public Understanding of National Parks

JAMES M. MCPHERSON, professor and author, is regarded as one of the top historians of the American Civil War and protectors of our historic Civil War battlefields.  McPherson's works include The Struggle for Equality, awarded the Anisfield-Wolf Award.  In 1989, he published his Pulitzer-winning Battle Cry of Freedom, a book that is credited with renewing national interest in historic Civil War sites, many of which are part of the National Park System.  In 2002 he published both a scholarly book, Crossroads of Freedom: Antietam 1862, and a history of the Civil War for children, Fields of Fury. His lively and accessible writing style is lauded for making history accessible to the public. Most of his works are marketed to popular audiences and his book Battle Cry of Freedom has long been a popular one-volume general history of the Civil War.  Throughout his career, Professor McPherson has tirelessly worked for the preservation of Civil War battlefields.  McPherson was appointed in 1991 by the U.S. Senate to the Civil War Sites Advisory Commission and has argued publicly against the commercial exploitation of historic sites.  As president in 1993-1994 of Protect Historic America, he lobbied against the construction of a commercial theme park at the Manassas battlefield. He has also served on the boards of the Civil War Trust and the Association for the Preservation of Civil War Sites, and on the Civil War Sites Advisory Committee.  Professor McPherson was named the "2000 Jefferson Lecturer in the Humanities" by the National Endowment for the Humanities. In making the announcement NEH Chairman William Ferris commented: “James M. McPherson has helped millions of Americans better understand the meaning and legacy of the American Civil War. By establishing the highest standards for scholarship and public education about the Civil War and by providing leadership in the movement to protect the nation's battlefields, he has made an exceptional contribution to historical awareness in America.”

Born in North Dakota and raised in Minnesota, McPherson taught at Princeton University from 1962 to 2004 and is the George Henry Davis 1986 Professor of American History, Emeritus. He lives in New Jersey with his wife Patricia. They have one daughter and three grandchildren.

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Xanterra Parks & Resorts

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The Kendeda Fund

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Booz | Allen | Hamilton
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