The French Creek Project and the French Creek Valley Conservancy this week announced the five winners of the 2006 Friends of French Creek and Bailey Lifetime Achievement awards.

The awards are given annually at the Creekfest celebration to individuals and organizations who are working to improve environmental quality in the French Creek watershed. This year’s Creekfest will be at the Academy Theater in Meadville on April 8 at 7:30 pm.

Jim Holden, farmer and landowner along French Creek, and an active conservationist who lives in Sugarcreek Borough, Venango County, is this year's Bailey Lifetime Achievement Award winner.

Jim Holden has been a key player in the founding and management of the Allegheny Valley Trails Association, and in the formation and ongoing success of the Allegheny Valley Conservancy, a land trust active in the middle Allegheny River region, including French Creek.

“By conserving a sizable portion of the Holden farm, along with an adjoining VNA property, Jim has been instrumental in one of the most significant voluntary land conservation partnerships along the banks of French Creek,” noted Mark Gorman, Director of the French Creek Project. “Jim has worked tirelessly to conserve our landscape of working farms and woodlands that are so vital to the economy and culture of our region.”

The Bailey Lifetime Achievement Award is named in honor of Betty and the late Dr. John Bailey, founders of the French Creek Valley Conservancy. Mrs. Bailey plans to be in attendance at the April 8 Creekfest concert to help recognize and honor the award winners and their work.

The 2006 Friend of French Creek award winners and their corresponding award categories are:

Robert Wright from Cochranton (Farmer/Landowner Category).

Robert Wright has worked with the Natural Resources Conservation Service, the Crawford County Conservation District and many other partners over the years to make his replacement heifer operation both economically efficient and environmentally friendly, by, among other things, fencing streambanks, improving rotational grazing reinforcing heavy use areas, providing alternative watering hydrants for cattle and restoring streambank vegetation.

Attorney Stephen Hall from Meadville (Business Category).

Over a period of more than a decade, Steve Hall has donated innumerable hours assisting the French Creek Vally Conservancy, French Creek Recreational Trails, and other conservation and recreation groups, by providing them with legal advice, undertaking research, and drafting conservation documents and sales documents.

French Creek Recreational Trails (Community Group Category).

French Creek Recreational Trails is celebrating its 10th year anniversary in 2006 as the planner and manager of the immensely popular Ernst Trail, a beautiful recreational trail constructed on the abandoned bed of the former Bessemer - Lake Erie Railroad along the banks of French Creek. The completed segment of the Ernst Trail is part of a proposed trail that will eventually connect Meadville with Conneaut Lake.

Crawford County Conservation District (Education Category).

In 2006 the Crawford County Conservation District is celebrating 50 years of protecting, conserving, and restoring the County's natural resources. The Conservation District nurtures cooperative partnerships to achieve conservation through voluntary cooperation. One of the District's key tools in achieving this mission is conservation outreach and education. District Board members, associates and staff have been very successful in reaching out to landowners, businesses, children and numerous other partners to help assure that the natural resources of the county are conserved for present and future generations.

Creekfest 2006 will feature renowned folk singer-songwriter Iris DeMent. Tickets to the award ceremony and concert are available through the Academy Theater Box Office at 814-337-8000, and are $25 (regular admission) and $15 (students and seniors).

Creekfest is an annual event celebrating the biological diversity, exceptional water quality and beauty of French Creek, and those who contribute to conserving that national treasure, and one of The Nature Conservancy's “Last Great Places” on earth. In addition to the April 8 concert, this year's Creekfest will include a juried nature art exhibition featuring regional and local artists on April 8 from 9 a.m. through 5 p.m. at the Kepler Building on Market Street in Meadville.

Creekfest is a cooperative effort of the French Creek Project, French Creek Valley Conservancy and the Crawford County Historical Society.

Visit the French Creek Project and French Creek Valley Conservancy websites for more information.

3/17/2006