Bruce Kershner

Bruce S. Kershner (April 17, 1950 – February 16, 2007) was an environmentalist, author, high school biology teacher and forest ecologist.

[3] Kershner has published a dozen books including the Sierra Club Guide to Ancient Forests of the Northeast[1] and Secret Places: Scenic Treasures of Western New York and Southern Ontario.

These have included studies of the Reinstein Woods Nature Preserve, Zoar Valley, Staten Island, Allegany State Park, and the Niagara Gorge.

Effective September 4, 2008, New York State Governor David Patterson signed into law the Bruce S. Kershner Old-growth Forest Preservation and Protection Act,[7] an amendment to existing environmental law that establishes a first in the nation definition of an Old Growth Forest, compels indefinite protection on state land and encourages acquisition by the state where the definition is satisfied on private land.

The award was "designed to honor a person who has continued to fight tirelessly on behalf of an environmental issue in the way that Kershner fought for old growth forests."