The Missouri Prairie Foundation’s Annual Dinner, this year held on August 17, is a celebration of Missouri’s prairie legacy. During the 2024 event, the 58-year-old prairie conservation organization and land trust paid tribute to three awardees.
“Missouri’s remaining prairies are rare and priceless treasures,” said David Young, Missouri Prairie Foundation President. “Protecting and promoting them requires dedication and commitment from many people. Our award program recognizes individuals who have made or are making a positive difference in the conservation of the region’s prairie legacy and in the promotion or protection of native plants.”
The Missouri Prairie Foundation 2024 awardees are:
2024 Dick Dawson Prairie Pioneers of the Year: Amy Hamilton and the late Rex Hamilton, Elk Creek, Missouri
Rex and Amy Hamilton began harvesting, cleaning, and selling native warm-season grass seed in 1981. When the Conservation Reserve Program, in the mid-1980s, created more demand for native plants in an effort to reduce soil erosion, the Hamiltons spent more time harvesting prairie seed and also took greater note of the wildflowers. They began harvesting forb seeds by hand in 1987. Soon, the Hamiltons began selling seeds and bare-root plants through a mail-order operation, numbering among the few sources in Missouri for consumers to purchase native plants and seed. The Hamiltons promoted the protection and stewardship of prairie landscapes throughout the years, and in doing so, preserved valuable seeds and priceless habitat. Rex, who died on May 5, 2023, generously shared his knowledge of prairie and seed collection with others during his lifetime. Amy continues to promote the expansion of diverse native grasslands to restore degraded landscapes, benefit wildlife, and inform livestock producers about the benefits of native grasses as nutritious forage. Their business expanded into a family operation that includes their grown children. Missouri, and countless landowners, have definitely benefited from the pioneering efforts of Rex and Amy to promote prairies and all that they provide.
Amy Hamilton and the late Rex Hamilton with grandchildren, of Elk Creek, Missouri. Photo by Brooke Kipp
2024 Bill T. Crawford Prairie Professional of the Year Award: Tim Kavan of East Prairie, Missouri
Tim Kavan is the Community & Private Land Conservation Supervisor for the Missouri Department of Conservation’s (MDC’s) Southeast region. Kavan has demonstrated his passion for the active management and protection of prairie, especially rare, remnant sand prairies near Sikeston, in many ways. He has successfully encouraged dialog at the state level about the need for strengthened support mechanisms for sand prairie protection and management. An avid birder, Kavan regularly conducts quail counts and has an intense appreciation for all bird life, and other wildlife in his region and beyond. Kavan has also worked for many years cultivating productive relationships with individual private landowners in the region, to help them protect sand prairies and other special natural features on their properties. Kavan’s outreach to partners has resulted in the permanent protection of several sand prairie sites, to help safeguard many plants and animals that occur only on sand prairies.
Tim Kavan, of East Prairie, Missouri. Photo by MDC
The August 17 program also included the announcement of one award from the Missouri Prairie Foundation’s 24-year-old Grow Native! program:
2024 Grow Native! Native Plant Protector: Krista Noel of Kansas City, Missouri
The recipient of the 2024 Grow Native! Plant Protector Award, which recognizes outstanding efforts to protect native plants in original habitats, was Krista Noel. She is the Natural History Biologist for MDC’s Kansas City region. An all-round excellent naturalist, Noel has made many contributions to Missouri’s natural history conservation. Her recent accomplishments include finding a new location for Geocarpon minimum, a species of conservation concern, as well as counting 722 auriculate false foxglove plants, which is many more than previously recorded, at the Missouri Prairie Foundation’s Snowball Hill Prairie. She also recently completed a very high number of Community Health Index surveys on numerous public prairies, double the number she had actually committed to doing. This work assesses the ecological health of Missouri’s natural heritage at specific sites. Noel shares her excitement and passion for plants and habitats to the public, as well as to her MDC colleagues, leading species of conservation concern training seminars for MDC staff and volunteer Missouri Master Naturalists.
Krista Noel, of Kansas City. Photo by Carol Davit
