Lake Norman group, volunteer take wildlife awards

Lake Norman Wildlife Conservationists and Carolina Raptor Center volunteer Anne Steinert are among this year's winners of the Governor's Conservation Achievement Awards.

The annual awards are made by the N.C. Wildlife Federation.

The Lake Norman group was named the federation's chapter of the year. The Mooresville-based group has certified the lake as "community wildlife habitat" with the National Wildlife Federation.

Steinert, named wildlife volunteer of the year, has volunteered an average of 800 hours a year for the past 10 years at the Raptor Center, where she's a master-level rehabilitation volunteer. She assists in surgery, transports injured birds -- and bakes bread for the staff each Friday.

Catawba County was named municipal conservationist of the year for its recycling and waste reduction program, which runs the county's EcoComplex and Resource Recovery Facility.

Winston-Salem lawyer Michael Leonard won conservationist of the year for helping land trusts protect 266,750 acres across six states, including 120,000 acres in North Carolina.

Read the full list of winners here.