The Ohio Natural Resources Hall of Fame Award is a top conservation honor that recognizes lifetime achievements for protecting and preserving the state’s natural resources.

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources is seeking nominations to honor a new class of inductees for the 2025 award ceremony, which will take place at the Ohio State Fair.

Nominees must have been born in Ohio or made a significant contribution to the conservation of natural resources in the state, such as protecting and preserving the state’s water, soil, woodlands, wildlife, and / or mineral resources. Nominations are being accepted by mail and online at https://tinyurl.com/HallofFame2025. The deadline to submit a nomination is April 28.

“ODNR has a long history of conservation work in the state, and it’s thanks to those who have dedicated their lives to that mission that we’re able to experience Ohio’s great outdoors,” said ODNR Director Mary Mertz. “The Ohio Natural Resources Hall of Fame is a way of saying thank you to individuals that paved their own incredible paths in conservation and continue to inspire future generations.”

The Ohio Natural Resources Hall of Fame, which was established in 1966, is the state’s top honor to recognize an individual’s work in outdoor conservation. The total number of inductees is 193 people. Previous recipients include John Chapman (Johnny Appleseed); explorer John Wesley Powell; conservationist and Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Louis Bromfield; pioneering botanist Lucy Braun; and farming conservation advocate Bob Evans.

The 2024 Hall of Fame inductees included Michael Budzik, former ODNR Division of Wildlife chief who helped purchase land for preservation and educated the public about wildlife management; Peg VanVleet, a sport fishing captain who is dedicated to Lake Erie conservation; and Emmett Conway, Jr., a lifelong outdoorsman and advocate for ethical land stewardship and forest management practices.

For more information about the selection criteria and to request a mailed nomination form, email Tina Fronk.

Nominations submitted by mail should be sent to ODNR Special Projects, 2045 Morse Road, Building D-3, Columbus, OH 43229, Attn: Tina Fronk, Hall of Fame. Hall of Fame inductees, along with Cardinal Award winners, will be announced during a ceremony at the Ohio State Fair. Cardinal Award winners are nominated by ODNR employees for their commitment to the department’s mission.

Visit the ODNR website at ohiodnr.gov.