In honor of a career that includes more than 45 years with the DNR, Al Stewart, the department's upland game bird specialist, received the Dodge Sportsman Award last month at Meadow Brook Hall’s Gourmet Wild Game Dinner in Rochester, Michigan.

The Dodge Sportsman Award recognizes a man, woman or organization who, in the spirit of entrepreneurial American sportsmen John, Horace and Danny Dodge, has demonstrated outstanding contributions to Michigan’s outdoor heritage, wildlife and habitat conservation and the promotion of hunting and fishing activities, ethics and education.

"I'm very humbled and grateful to be the recipient of this award,” said Stewart. “I thank the individuals associated with the Dodge Sportsman Award selection committee and representatives of the Meadow Brook Hall staff for honoring me with this prestigious professional award. I love my job and I feel privileged to work with so many fine people who have an interest in natural resources and helping others.”

Shannon O'Berski, director of external relations for Meadow Brook Estate, said Stewart was selected for the Dodge Sportsman Award because of his “inspired work in leading the conservation and management of upland game birds in Michigan, and for his work mentoring others in outdoor skills.” In addition to the body of work Stewart has achieved at the DNR, he also is co-chair of the Michigan Pheasant Restoration Initiative.

Meadow Brook Hall's Gourmet Wild Game Dinner is a major fundraiser that supports the preservation of Meadow Brook, the fourth-largest historic house museum in the United States, named a National Historic Landmark in 2012 by the Secretary of the Interior.

For more information on the award and Stewart's career, contact Holly Vaughn at 313-396-6863.