[1] Kerr led the museum for sixteen years, helping it develop and expand to become one of Central Oregon's most popular tourist attractions.

In the late 1970s, Kerr moved to Central Oregon with the idea of creating a museum with living animals exhibited in their natural environments.

After five years of fund raising, he persuaded the Brooks-Scanlon Lumber Company to donate 135 acres (55 ha) of timberland for a nature museum site.

It was one of the first museums in the United States to merge indoor and outdoor wildlife exhibits with an interactive living history program.

It became the Earle A. Chiles Spirit of the West Center, providing space for a series of western history dioramas as well as several rooms for temporary exhibits.

In 1991, another wing was built to house an extensive collection of Native American artifacts donated to the museum by Doris Swayze Bounds.

[1][3][6][7] In the early 1990s, Kerr served on the board of directors for the Mid-Oregon Indian Historical Society as well as Oregon’s State Parks and Recreation Commission.

[2][3][6][8] Today, the 7,500 square feet (700 m2) Donald M. Kerr Birds of Prey Center houses the museum’s living collection of owls, falcons, hawks, eagles, and vultures as well as a number of environmental exhibits.

The award recognizes individuals whose volunteer activities have had a significant positive impact on the high desert environment and its resources.