On April 10th in Glendale, Arizona, Kenny Wilson was awarded the Pope & Young Conservation Award at the 34th Biennial Pope & Young Convention. The Pope and Young Club is North America's leading voice and supporter of bowhunting and related conservation issues and projects.

This award recognizes achievement by a person or organization in the promotion of the future of bowhunting and hunting, the image of bowhunting and hunting, the conservation and wise use of our natural resources.

Wilson joined Pope & Young in 1990 and became a Regular member in 2007.

Some of the highlights of Wilson’s contribution to West Virginia, bowhunting and conservation include:

• 1995 – He helped the WV DNR director start the Helping the Hungry program.
• 1998 – He was elected to a four-year term as President of the West Virginia Bowhunters Association.
• 2002 – He was elected President of the WV Wildlife Federation.
• 2003 – He was appointed to the WV Natural Resources Commission on which he served for 18 years.
• 2003 – He served on the committee to establish the National Archery in the Schools (NASP) in WV. That program started with 14 pilot schools and is now in 350 schools and has reached over 65,000 students.
• 2004 – He coordinated efforts to restore historic Buffalo Creek back to a viable trout stream, a creek that in 1972 had a dam collapse and killed 125 people.
• 2014 to 2016 – He helped acquire 44 acres for a wildlife management area to be the new home for the elk reintroduction program.
• 2016 – He helped trap and collar elk at Land Between the Lakes in Western Kentucky and has since been involved in helping monitor the elk herd.
• 2017 – He was awarded the Elk Country Partnership Award by the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation for his efforts in restoring elk into WV.

Wilson is both a West Virginia Certified Bowhunter Education Instructor and Hunter Education Instructor, member of the WV Bowhunters Hall of Fame, and the WV Whitetail Hall of Fame.

Kenny Wilson is so incredibly deserving of this award, being that he has dedicated his life to conservation and has passed that along to thousands of WV children.

About Pope and Young:

The Pope and Young Club is North America's leading voice and supporter of bowhunting and related conservation issues and projects. If you are a fair chase, ethical bowhunter, and you care about preserving, protecting, and promoting the culture and future of bowhunting, then you should belong to the Pope and Young Club. Join today at www.pope-young.org.