In May of 2013 the McKeen Center awarded Shana Stewart Deeds, Lab Instructor in Biology, the McKeen Center Staff Award for Commitment to Community. This award recognizes the significant contributions of Bowdoin staff members who give their time, talent and expertise to benefit the community. Inspired by her tireless commitment to the conservation of these rivers and the progress she had made towards their designation as a Wild and Scenic Rivers, Shana was nominated by her peers for her work with the Upper Missisquoi and Trout Rivers in Vermont.

In addition to her excellent work teaching students, Shana worked to achieve Wild and Scenic River designation for these rivers – thereby qualifying them for federal funds for conservation and management in order to protect the outstanding value of the rivers. Only eight rivers in New England possess this status.

As the coordinator of this Wild and Scenic River Study, she worked with a diverse group of stakeholders, including local communities, NGO’s, and the federal government. A bill was introduced to Congress by the Vermont delegation to designate the rivers as Wild and Scenic in the summer of 2013. We recently learned that S. 1847 the Carl Levin and Howard P. “Buck” McKeon National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2015 was passed in the final days of 2014 and the designation of these rivers was included. Congratulations to Shana on this important accomplishment and many thanks for her tireless work to this end!

Read more about this legislation.

The McKeen Center annually recognizes the service and engagement efforts of members of the Bowdoin and local communities in an awards ceremony. The recipients represent the range of ways in which students, faculty and staff, as well as community partners, work to apply their talents, passions and academic interests “for the benefit of society” as a manifestation of President Joseph McKeen’s call in his inaugural address at the opening of the College over two hundred years ago.