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Ecologist Recognized for Landmark Contributions to Vermont's Conservation Efforts

Date October 3, 2025 PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release – October 3, 2024

Contact:
Rosalind Renfrew, Wildlife Diversity Program Manager
Fish and Wildlife Department
Rosalind.Renfrew@vermont.gov, 802-461-8387

Stephanie Brackin, Communications Director
Agency of Natural Resources
Stephanie.Brackin@vermont.gov, 802-261-0606

Ecologist Recognized for Landmark Contributions to Vermont's Conservation Efforts

Montpelier, VT – The Vermont Agency of Natural Resources (ANR) is proud to announce Liz Thompson, a revered ecologist and botanist, as the recipient of the 2025 Sally Laughlin Award for her pivotal role in land and biodiversity conservation across Vermont for more than three decades.

Thompson will be honored at Dead Creek Wildlife Day on Saturday, October 4, 2025, at noon. Dead Creek Day is a day-long public festival held at the headquarters of the Dead Creek Wildlife Management Area in Addison by the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department.

Agency of Natural Resources Secretary Julie Moore shared, “Liz’s legacy as a scientist, educator, and advocate makes her a deserving recipient of this prestigious honor. Her work with the Vermont Land Trust, The Nature Conservancy, and the Vermont Natural Heritage Inventory, as well as her service with the Agency’s Endangered Species Committee, has left a lasting mark on the state’s natural landscape.”

Thompson co-authored Wetland, Woodland, Wildland: A Guide to the Natural Communities of Vermont, a foundational text that guides conservation planning at state and local levels. It inspired the Vermont Biodiversity Project and Vermont Conservation Design, projects Liz also has led and helped to shape.

Thompson has mentored over 200 students through the renowned UVM Field Naturalist Program, helping to shape the next generation of conservation leaders. She also served on the Endangered Species Committee from 2015 to 2022, and helped advance protections in Vermont’s endangered species law, for example by adding a provision that allows ANR to delineate “Critical Habitat” – a specific, protected area necessary for the survival of endangered species.

Currently the managing editor of From the Ground Up, a regional conservation journal, Thompson continues to amplify conversations about ecology, climate, and community.

The Sally Laughlin Award for the Conservation of Endangered and Threatened Species is selected each year by the Secretary of the Agency of Natural Resources based on recommendations from Vermont’s Endangered Species Committee. The award recognizes a person who has shown leadership in advancing knowledge, understanding and conservation of endangered and threatened species and their habitats in Vermont.

This institution is an equal opportunity provider. To file a discrimination complaint, for questions, free language services, or requests for reasonable accommodations, please contact ANR’s Nondiscrimination Coordinator at ANR.CivilRights@vermont.gov or visit ANR’s online Notice of Nondiscrimination .