Awards

“Melanie is equally comfortable briefing Congressional staffers in Washington, D.C., discussing gravel road siting with oil company executives, and delving into seaduck migration with wildlife biologists.”

“…played a pivotal role in formulating a set of recommendations for seven hundred miles of shipping lanes, precautionary areas and areas to be avoided…that are heavily used by avian and marine mammal species…these new routes in the Bering Sea and Bering Strait have been recommended for worldwide implementation…”

Going the Extra Mile (GEM) Award—National Audubon Society (December 2025)

In recognition of exemplary contributions that go above and beyond work responsibilities to make an impact on Audubon’s organizational goals.

Elective member of the American Ornithological Society (October 2024)

Individuals are elected in recognition of their exceptional and sustained contributions to ornithology and to the AOS.

Three silver Anthem Awards by Webby for the Bird Migration Explorer (October 2022)

  • Awareness & Media: Digital & Innovative Experiences
  • Awareness & Media: Partnership or Collaboration
  • Product, Innovation or Service: Partnership or Collaboration

US Coast Guard—Public Service Commendation (July 2018)

Audubon Alaska received a Public Service Commendation from the U.S. Coast Guard “for outstanding support to the United States Coast Guard to advance the Bering Strait Port Access Route Study,” a process to identify safe routes for vessels. Audubon Alaska provided analysis and mapping that delineated Areas to be Avoided by vessel traffic to lessen the impact on crucial areas for birds and mammals across the Bering Strait. These recommendations were formally adopted by the International Maritime Organization, making them mandatory for transiting vessels. The commendation stated,

“Audubon Alaska played a pivotal role in formulating a set of recommendations for seven hundred miles of shipping lanes, precautionary areas and areas to bevoided that will help protect 9,471 square miles of environmentally sensitive areas in U.S. Arctic waters that are heavily used by avian and marine mammal species…these new routes in the Bering Sea and Bering Strait have been recommended for worldwide implementation…Audubon Alaska’s subject matter expertise, especially on the spatial and temporal use of key habitat areas in this region, and the collaboration with other non-governmental organizations resulted in consensus based recommendations that greatly helped the Coast Guard manage this significant undertaking.”

Esri—Best Cartography (Best of Show) (July 2018)

Esri—First Place, Map Series or Atlas (July 2018)

International Cartographic Association—Recognition of Excellence in Cartography (July 2018)

Audubon Alaska, Oceana, and Daniel Huffman of somethingaboutmaps were awarded three of the highest honors at the annual Esri User Conference for our Ecological Atlas of the Bering, Chukchi, and Beaufort Seas. The awards included Best Cartography, the equivalent of a best in show award, as well as first place for Atlas. A third award by ICA/IMIA recognized excellence in cartography.

US Fish and Wildlife Service, Alaska Region—Regional Director’s Excellence Award (May 2017)

Audubon Alaska and our partners were awarded “Outstanding Partner” for our work on the Mountains to Sea Partnership, developed to support land conservation on the Kenai Peninsula. This award recognizes external partners who have made significant contributions to the conservation of natural resources in the region.

Esri—President’s Award (July 2015)

The National Audubon Society GIS team was given Esri’s highest honor for “outstanding application of GIS in conservation“. The Alaska office’s contribution was a driving factor in earning this award. View the report they mention here.

“Esri equipped Audubon with $11.2 million worth of GIS software, which has helped, among other initiatives, to preserve one of the world’s most important bird breeding grounds—11 million acres in Alaska that attract birds from all seven continents.”

US Fish and Wildlife Service, Alaska Region—Regional Director’s Excellence Award (March 2014)

Melanie Smith and Nathan Walker of Audubon Alaska were each individually awarded “Outstanding Partner” for our work to develop a decision support tool for land conservation on the Kenai Peninsula. Try the tool by clicking here.

Esri—Special Achievement Award (July 2013)

The National Audubon Society GIS team was awarded by Esri for exceptional application of geospatial technology for deploying a successful enterprise GIS system used to build a legacy of conservation success. Audubon Alaska’s work was cited by our CEO in earning this award.

National Audubon Society and Toyota—TogetherGreen Fellowship (May 2012)

The TogetherGreen fellowship provided $10,000 toward a conservation project to map use of the Bering Strait by communities, birds, and wildlife, in the face of increasing ship traffic due to Arctic climate change. See the final report and maps here.

National Audubon Society—Ace Award (December 2009)

The National Audubon Society honored Melanie Smith with the New Star Award for “substantial contributions to Audubon’s conservation efforts in the Arctic marine environment and on the Tongass National Forest”.

Audubon stated, “Melanie’s spatial analysis has revolutionized our conservation work and her mapping skills are in high demand by other conservation organizations as well as natural resource agency scientists.”