The Adirondack Research Consortium has announced that Dr. Nina Schoch, a wildlife veterinarian and biologist, will receive the 2018 Dr. Elizabeth W. Thorndike Adirondack Achievement Award.

Nina is the Executive Director of the Adirondack Center for Loon Conservation. She has been studying loons in the Adirondacks since 1998. Dr. Schoch practiced small animal medicine from 1991-2002 and is a licensed wildlife rehabilitator. She is a member of numerous conservation and wildlife health related organizations, and has written many scientific and lay articles about the results of the Adirondack loon research.

The Elizabeth Thorndike Adirondack Achievement Award is given annually to an individual who has demonstrated significant contributions to the long term sustainability of the Adirondack Park through scholarship, research, and policy initiatives. Past awardees include Ray Curran, longtime Adirondack ecologist; Eileen Allen, SUNY Plattsburgh; Barbara Bedford, Cornell University; and, former DEC Commissioner Joe Martens.

Elizabeth Thorndike has spent her professional career in the nonprofit and education sectors, and in public policy positions concerned with the environment at the local, state, and federal levels.

The Adirondack Achievement Award will be presented at the 25th Annual Conference on the Adirondacks May 22nd and 23rd, 2018 at the Lake Placid Conference Center. The Annual Awards Luncheon is on Wednesday, May 23rd, 2018 at noon.

For more information on the Annual Conference and the Awards Luncheon, click here or call the Consortium office at (518) 327-6276.