The School of Natural Resources celebrated its 2026 spring banquet in the Nebraska East Union on April 11 with the theme “Celebrating Resolve. Rooted in Purpose. Prepared for the Moment.” About 300 people and eight student clubs attended, with 21 people receiving awards.
“‘Resolve’ has been our theme in the school for the 2025-2026 academic year,” Larkin Powell, director of the School of Natural Resources, said. “I gain inspiration from watching our students, staff and faculty move forward to respond to the needs of our state, region and world during a time of unique funding challenges at the university, state and federal levels. We acknowledge our circumstances but watch for opportunities to make an impact on our world.”
The schoolwide banquet, started in 1960 as the Wildlife Club Banquet, continued the tradition of honoring members of the natural resources community for their achievements. The student clubs gave out eight awards, followed by the school honoring 13 people with awards (see awards below).
Kristal Stoner, a National Audubon Society vice president and executive director for the Great Plains, received the prestigious Howard L. Wiegers Nebraska Outstanding Wildlife Conservation Award. A story about her appears in this issue of Inside SNR, and stories about other winners will appear in coming issues of Inside SNR.
Powell noted that the School of Natural Resources was happy to host the presentation of an external, regional award, the Joe Gabig Memorial Award. The Nebraska Chapter of The Wildlife Society presented the award to Ava Britton, a Nebraska master’s student in natural resource sciences.
Read more about the banquet and see other images at https://snr.unl.edu/aboutus/what/newstory.aspx?fid=1330
More details at: https://snr.unl.edu/aboutus/what/awards/banquetawards2026.aspx