The High Desert Museum has named Mr. Cecil D. Andrus, former Idaho Governor and Secretary of the Interior, as the recipient of its 2004 Earle A. Chiles Award.
The Earle A. Chiles Award was established in 1983 to recognize individual accomplishments in promoting understanding of the High Desert, and for promoting conflict resolution involving its natural and cultural resources.
Andrus was nominated for this year’s award for promoting non-partisan discourse, industry/conservation collaboration and community decision-making to resolve controversial natural resource issues, and for three decades of public service as a “common sense conservationist.”
During his four terms as governor of Idaho (1971-1977 and 1987-1994), and tenure as Secretary of the Interior (1977-1981), Andrus earned a national reputation as a leader who could strike a wise balance between often-conflicting conservation and development positions. He championed land-use planning laws, protection of wild and scenic rivers, and industry and conservation collaborations to assure the protection of Idaho’s water quality. Among the achievements that framed his “common sense conservationist” reputation was his pivotal role in creation of the Snake River Birds of Prey Sanctuary, Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness Area and the Hell’s Canyon National Recreation Area.
In 1994, after deciding not to seek re-election, he established the Andrus Center for Public Policy, located at Boise State University. The Center is dedicated to independent, non-partisan policy formation on critical issues confronting Idaho and the western United States, bringing policymakers together to address such subjects as declining populations of bull trout, federal land management policies, and catastrophic wildland fires. The Center provides a civil, non-partisan forum for the exchange of divergent views on controversial issues; proceedings from forums reflect consensus findings and help to inform individual and community decision-making.
An Oregon native and son of a sawmill owner, Andrus attended Oregon State University until his enlistment in the US Navy during the Korean conflict. After military service, he returned to Idaho to work as a lumberjack and mill worker until his election to the Idaho State Senate (1960) at age 29.
As the 2004 recipient of the High Desert Museum’s Earle A. Chiles Award, Andrus will receive a $15,000 cash award funded through a grant from the Chiles Foundation. The award will be presented on Tuesday, December 7, 2004, at the annual Earle A. Chiles Award Banquet at The Benson Hotel in Portland, Oregon.
The High Desert Museum is a nationally acclaimed educational and cultural institution that exists to help people of all ages explore and understand the cultures, history and wildlife of the High Desert region – a region spanning from the Sierra in the west to the Rockies in the east, and from southern British Columbia through Nevada’s Great Basin. The Museum is funded exclusively by visitors, members, and donors, and features indoor and outdoor exhibits, changing art shows, and a variety of naturalistic animal habitats. It is located south of Bend on Highway 97. For more information contact the Museum at 541.382.4754 or visit www.highdesertmuseum.org
