World citizen George Archibald, the co-founder of the International Crane Foundation, has been presented a new and distinguished high honor. At a ceremony in December in Ottawa, Ontario, Dr. Archibald was presented with the Order of Canada, on behalf of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
George Archibald, after a speaking engagement at The Ridges Sanctuary in Door County in July 2012.
A press release from ICF called this award “the cornerstone of the Canadian Honours System” and noted that it was awarded to the ICF co-founder in recognition of “his visionary leadership in international conservation efforts over the past 40 years.” Dr. Archibald, who has become a global citizen through his work on behalf of endangered cranes, is a Canadian native, and also a long-time resident of Wisconsin.
In recent years he has been presented many prestigious honors including the first Dan W. Lufkin Prize from The Audubon Society last year. In 2006, Dr. Archibald was chosen as the inaugural winner of the then-brand-new Indianapolis Prize, created by the Indianapolis Zoo to recognize extraordinary efforts in animal conservation.
For more than a century, Wisconsin has been a state that can boast of strong ties to some of the giants in the field of conservation, and Dr. Archibald adds more weight to that legacy. Inspired by his new honor, during January, The Badger and the Whooping Crane plans a series of posts about our conservation icons, including John Muir and Aldo Leopold. More will be written about George Archibald, too. These posts will all be headlined “Wisconsin’s Conservation Legends.” I hope you will look for them!
The Badger and the Whooping Crane 