For more than 23 years, Bruce Taylor has served as the Executive Director of the Oregon Habitat Joint Venture (OHJV), a statewide coalition of partners working to protect and restore important habitats for birds through voluntary, cooperative efforts. He possesses a vision for bird and wildlife conservation across Oregon and nationally that is unique and highly valued in today’s world of competing resource demands and complexity. For these reasons and more, it is the IWJV’s pleasure and honor to recognize Bruce with the 2015 John E. Nagel Award. 

This special award is presented to an individual who exemplifies the spirit of the IWJV and efforts to conserve habitat through building public and private partnerships. One of Bruce’s early and most important achievements was his help securing funding for U.S. Habitat Joint Ventures, which today provides base funding for the IWJV and other Joint Ventures. He embodies the spirit of the Nagel Award as he has been on the front lines of bird conservation issues in Oregon, and brought people together to find common sense solutions to resource challenges.

For example, Bruce and the OHJV played a major role in the development of the Oregon Conservation Strategy (OCS), which is Oregon’s State Wildlife Action Plan. Under Bruce’s leadership, all of the priority habitats and priority areas identified by the OHJV were also selected as priorities under the OCS.

In addition, Bruce helped form the High Desert Partnership (HDP), a community-based organization in Harney County. HDP provides a collaborative forum for local stakeholders to find solutions to natural resource issues. Recently a sub-group of HDP was also formed, the Harney Basin Wetlands Initiative (HBWI), which is engaged in finding conservation delivery funding pools to implement the IWJV’s SONEC Working Wet Meadows Initiative.

“It is Bruce’s strength in communicating and collaborating with stakeholders that has achieved a lasting legacy for bird conservation in Oregon,” said Chad Karges, Malheur National Wildlife Refuge Manager.

The stamp of Bruce’s undying commitment to conservation is evident in multiple efforts, including his role with Oregon’s Sage Grouse Conservation Partnership. This partnership is formulating an “all lands, all threats” approach to sage grouse conservation. He is also crucial in guiding strategic wetlands and working lands conservation through Farm Bill Programs and the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board. Last but not least, the IWJV is particularly grateful for his work as Chair of the IWJV Oregon State Conservation Partnership.

He will long be recognized for his genuine passion and artful skill in bridging the “un-alike” towards a purpose for conservation that lasts.

IWJV Board Chairman Jeff McCreary and IWJV Coordinator Dave Smith presented Bruce Taylor (center) with the John E. Nagel Award at IWJV’s Fall 2015 Board Meeting.