Tom Barry Honored as a NOAA Environmental Hero for 2008
April 22, 2008
NOAA has selected Tom Barry of South Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., as an Environmental Hero for his dedicated work in support of the Guana Tolomato Matanzas National Estuarine Research Reserve.
NOAA’s Environmental Hero Awards were established in 1995 to commemorate Earth Day by honoring volunteers who help NOAA carry out its mission — to understand and predict changes in Earth’s environment and conserve and manage coastal and marine resources to meet our nation’s economic, social, and environmental needs. The award program also raises awareness about NOAA’s volunteer programs.
“Thousands of people across the country join forces with NOAA each year and the Environmental Hero award is our way of saying ‘thank you’ to several of those individuals that have made a significant impact,” said retired Navy Vice Admiral Conrad Lautenbacher, Ph.D., undersecretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator. “Tom is an outstanding volunteer — in just three years he has contributed more than 1,200 hours of his time to the Reserve’s Outreach and Education programs.”
Barry, a retired U.S. Navy captain, has been an instrumental component of environmental programs of the Reserve since the new environmental education center opened in the fall of 2005. He supports the research, education, and stewardship functions by volunteering with a variety of key programs.
Barry serves as the archaeological expert of the Reserve’s cultural resources, providing lectures and guided historical walks to educate staff, visitors, and stakeholders of the unique cultural heritage of the Reserve within the community of the nation’s oldest city, St. Augustine, Fla. He coordinates and manages the information obtained from current and past cultural resource inspections on site.
Barry also supports endangered species protection through the annual monitoring of many endangered and threatened species such as sea turtle nest monitoring on Reserve beaches, endangered Anastasia Island Beach mouse surveys, threatened gopher tortoise burrow mapping, and Peregrine falcon migration monitoring.
He has supported the Reserve’s education program by developing and adapting interpretive literature for visitors exploring the diverse habitats of the Reserve. He serves as a school programs instructor and as a guide on the education center exhibit hall displays and programs.
Barry also participated with staff in the development of a new management plan to help guide the Reserve in a direction to best utilize its resources to achieve its overall mission.
“Tom Barry is an invaluable contributor to the Guana Tolomato Matanzas National Estuarine Research Reserve,” said Reserve Manager Mike Shirley. “Without him, many of our programs and accomplishments would not be possible. We can always count on Tom when a Reserve program needs a helping hand.”
Barry will be honored during the Reserve’s Annual Volunteer Appreciation Dinner on Saturday, May 17.
The GTM Reserve is part of the National Estuarine Research Reserve System, comprising 27 Reserves protecting 1.3 million acres of coastal and estuarine habitat in 21 states and Puerto Rico for purposes of research, education and stewardship.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, an agency of the U.S. Commerce Department, is dedicated to enhancing economic security and national safety through the prediction and research of weather and climate-related events and information service delivery for transportation, and by providing environmental stewardship of our nation's coastal and marine resources. Through the emerging Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS), NOAA is working with its federal partners, more than 70 countries and the European Commission to develop a global monitoring network that is as integrated as the planet it observes, predicts and protects.
Contact: George Cathcart, 301-713-3155 x 141