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Steve Piatt of Waverly, editor of NY Outdoor News since its inception until he retired this year, has been named recipient of the NYSOWA M. Paul Keesler New York Outdoor Citizen Award for 2020. NYSOWA made the announcement at the group’s virtual meeting on Oct. 22.

The M. Paul Keesler New York Outdoor Citizen Award is presented each year to an individual or organization that effectively has raised the public’s awareness of outdoor recreational opportunities and conservation issues in New York State. The award is named after the late M. Paul Keesler who spent nearly five decades promoting and conserving the outdoor wonders and recreational opportunities within New York State.

Piatt fulfills the vision of the award’s founder both through his journalistic endeavors as well as with his practical mentorship of youth.

In 2004 Piatt became the founding editor of New York Outdoor News, a post he continued to man until his retirement in April of this year. Every other week for 16 years, Piatt produced information-packed publications that reported on the developments in the outdoor world, especially as it pertained to New York anglers, hunters, trappers and fish and game. Through the articles, readers learned about a myriad of outdoor recreational opportunities.

When conservation issues faced our fish and wildlife or when political issues threatened our right to hunt, fish, trap or own firearms, Piatt made sure it was addressed. He did so through reports that he either wrote or assigned to his hand-picked staff. When the information was not being disseminated in highly journalistic reports, Steve would deliver his message through his Editorial and through his award-winning “Out There” column.

The New York State Outdoor Writers Association awarded Steve its Pass It On Award in 2016 for his accomplishments to do just that, pass on the information and the skills to others to continue our outdoor heritage. Judges of the highest credentials from across the nation often judged Steve’s articles “best” in NYSOWA’s Excellence in Craft awards program.

Steve has not only fulfilled the criterion of the award through his writing and editing, but also through his mentoring of youngsters. He is almost always accompanying a young hunter on the youth hunting days New York holds for deer, turkey, and pheasant hunters. He teaches them the right way and at the same time exposes them to the outdoor and conservation treasures of our state.