Lamb receives national award for conservation management at Arnold Air Force Base

ARNOLD AIR FORCE BASE, Tenn. -- John Lamb, biologist at Arnold Air Force Base, received the 2018 National Military Fish and Wildlife Association (NMFWA) National Resources Conservation Management Award for Model Programs and Projects in support of natural resources on Department of Defense lands.

This award category recognizes resource managers who further natural resource management on military installations in support of the military mission through developing programs or projects which can serve as models for conservation on military installations.

Lamb, who has worked as a member of the Arnold Air Force Base natural resources team since 1996, serves as a key member of the natural resources program at Arnold AFB.

“He provides much needed experience and expertise with natural systems and has a rigorous scientific approach to conservation studies,’ said Shannon Allen, Chief, National Environmental Policy Act, Natural and Cultural Resources. “His work with bat populations on Arnold Air Force Base and elsewhere in the region has provided key data for understanding current trends and impacts of white-nose syndrome.”

Nominated by Allen, some of the Lamb’s accomplishments highlighted were that he was a founding chairperson of the Tennessee Bat Working Group; provided significant contributions to regional bat movement studies and national understanding of white-nose syndrome; mentored dozens of interns who have gone on to make significant contributions in natural resources; operated a Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship Station; and helped restore over 5,000 acres of barrens habitat on Arnold AFB.

According to Lamb, it is an honor to have been selected for this award.
“I was completely surprised,” he said. “Shannon didn't tell me that she put in all the work it takes to make the nomination. It meant a lot to me to be honored by my fellow DOD biologist and natural resource managers.”

Lamb’s had several accomplishments in his career but the most rewarding part has been mentoring others and seeing young people become successful in their work.

“The work we've done to restore habitats and populations of rare species has been rewarding, but I think the thing that means the most to me is seeing all the interns I've had succeed in their careers and make a difference on their own,” he said. “For example, I spent today leading a field trip for a wildlife management class - their professor was my first intern in 1998.”

Lamb was presented his award March 28 at the NMFWA conference in Norfolk, Virginia.

The NMFWA is a non-profit organization of professional resource managers working to protect and manage wildlife and other natural resources on DOD lands. Members include wildlife biologists, fisheries biologists, botanists, ecologists, range conservationists, foresters, cultural resource managers, and wildlife enforcement agents. Members may work for the DOD or other federal agencies, state agencies, universities, conservation organizations, or private businesses. All members, however, are involved in some aspect of the conservation and management of natural resources on military lands.