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R. E. (Ted) Turner
Defenders of Wildlife Legacy Award
Ted Turner was “born with a fascination for nature,” and it is Defenders’ great pleasure to honor the conservation innovations and investments that have grown out of that lifelong passion with the 2009 Defenders of Wildlife Legacy Award.
Perhaps best known as the founder of CNN, Ted Turner has also brought his vision and creativity to conservation philanthropy, land stewardship and business enterprise. He launched the Turner Foundation in 1990, and true to his ideal of creating a conservation legacy, has engaged all five of his children in supporting wildlife habitat protection, clean water, clean air and toxic reduction projects. Also in 1990, he formed the Captain Planet Foundation to educate and empower children. And with his historic gift of $1 billion to the United Nations in 1997, Turner became the founder of the United Nations Foundation, which in October of 2008 launched the landmark release of Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria. In 2007, recognizing that our future depends on changing the way we use energy, Turner initiated a new clean energy business venture to provide clean power solutions to several key U.S. markets.
Moreover, as the nation’s largest private landholder with more than two million acres in five western and plains states, Turner has forged an unparalleled legacy by permanently protecting the majority of these lands through conservation easements. He has also advanced endangered species conservation through his land stewardship and management practices, restoring important wildlife habitats and reintroducing 20 native species on his properties, including the bison, gray wolf and black-footed ferret.
Ted Turner earned his undergraduate degree from Brown University.
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