Bill Fontenot Wins The Caroline Dormon Outstanding Louisiana Naturalist Award 2021

Bill Fontenot photos are provided courtesy of Janeene deClouet.

 April 20th, 2021; Monroe, La. – The Caroline Dormon Outstanding Louisiana Naturalist Award 2021 will be presented to William R. “Bill” Fontenot at a Zoom assembly April 25th, 2021, at 2 p.m. The statewide Award is made annually by the Louisiana Master Naturalist Association. Fontenot was nominated for the award by the Acadiana Chapter of LMNA.
 
In 1986 Fontenot began his career with Lafayette Parish Consolidated Government, working first as Curator of Natural Sciences at the Lafayette Natural History Museum, then as manager of the Acadiana Park Nature Station. He has dedicated his career in biology to restoring ecological integrity to land, from the smallest urban gardens to the largest wildlife management areas. As a local columnist, for over two decades he helped educate the public about our natural heritage.
 
Since 1987 Fontenot has operated his own wildlife management, “wildscape” design, and ecological restoration consulting business, specializing in ecological assessment, biological inventory, land-use planning, and wildlife-friendly native plant-oriented landscape planning. His consulting work has taken him to hundreds of sites throughout the midwestern and eastern U.S., serving wildlife management and conservation agencies, landscape designers, community planners, ecotourism interests, and private landowners.
 
Fontenot earned an M.S. in freshwater fish ecology from the University of Louisiana at Monroe in 1980, then in the early 80s spent time in the PhD program in biogeography at the University of Alabama.
 
The Louisiana Master Naturalist Association founded the Outstanding Louisiana Naturalist Award as a tribute to the legacy of Caroline Dormon and to recognize people who personify her commitment to conserving and appreciating the rich biodiversity of Louisiana. Fontenot is the fourth recipient of the award.
 
The award will be presented by Bob Thomas, president of the Louisiana Master Naturalist Association. A link to the zoom assembly will be distributed to media a few days before the event.

See our Dormon Award dedicated webpage with profiles on current and past winners. 2020 — Kelby Ouchley, 2019 — Vernon Antoine Brou, Jr., 2018 — Dr. Charles Allen.
            
https://www.louisianamasternaturalist.org/the-dormon-award.html

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