The Fish Habitat Section manages three awards annually:
- Stanley A. Moberly Award for Outstanding Contributions in Fish Habitat Conservation
- Rising Star Award for Outstanding Early Career Contributions in Fish Habitat Conservation
- Annual Meeting Travel Award for Students and Early-Career Professionals
Stanley A. Moberly Award for Outstanding Contributions in Fish Habitat Conservation
The American Fisheries Society (AFS) Stanley A. Moberly Award for Outstanding Contributions in Fish Habitat Conservation was established in 2019 to annually recognize efforts of as many as three individuals, groups, or projects with an outstanding, long-term record of success in research, management, policy, communications, education, or other fields that support fish habitat conservation. The award was developed by the AFS Fish Habitat Section in partnership with NOAA Fisheries and the National Fish Habitat Partnership (NFHP). The award is named after AFS President Stanley A. Moberly (1987-1988) whose leadership, vision, and 20+ years of effort helped to establish the National Fish Habitat Partnership and ensure AFS has a dedicated seat on the NFHP Board. NFHP includes 20 regional fish habitat partnerships, overlapping all 50 states, working diligently to enhance, conserve, and restore fish habitats.
Rising Star Award for Outstanding Early Career Contributions in Fish Habitat Conservation
The Rising Star Award was established in 2019 to recognize the outstanding early-career contributions of students and early professionals in the field of fish habitat conservation. This award recognizes the achievements of individuals who achieve early-career success on projects related to fish habitat research, policy, management, education, project implementation, communications and outreach, or some other endeavor in freshwater, coastal, and/or marine environments. The Rising Star Award is administered as an American Fisheries Society (AFS), Fish Habitat Section (FHS)-level award in association with the National Fish Habitat Partnership (NFHP) and NOAA Fisheries.
Annual Meeting Travel Award for Students and Early-Career Professionals
The purpose of this award is to support AFS Fish Habitat Section (FHS)-sponsored symposia at the 2020 Annual Meeting by providing travel funds to students and early-career professionals who might not otherwise be able to attend the annual meeting. The current award level is set to cover the cost of meeting registration and will be paid directly from the FHS to AFS on your behalf. While travel costs include more than just the price of registration, this award is designed to provide leverage for the awardee(s) to garner other needed travel support. Selection for this award is conducted by the FHS Awards Committee and is based upon their sole discretion.
Best Student Paper Award
The purpose of this award is to recognize high-quality work by up-and-coming individuals focused on fish habitat.
Award-Related News
- Congrats to Shawn Snyder, A Rising Star
Congratulations to Shawn Snyder, recipient of the 2025 Rising Star Award! Shawn is a recent PhD graduate now working with the Penebscot Indian Nation as their GIS specialist including for planned river restoration projects such as the impending improvement for two road crossings on tribal lands. As part of his PhD studies, he madesubstantial gains… Read more: Congrats to Shawn Snyder, A Rising Star - Congrats to Jim Turek on a Career of Conservation
Congratulations to Jim Turek, recipient of the 2025 Stanley A. Moberly Award for Outstanding Contributions to Fish Habitat Conservation. James (“Jim”) Turek is a restoration ecologist, living in Rhode Island, with more than 40 years of work experience in fishery biology, aquatic ecology, and ecological restoration. Before retiring in April 2025, Jim worked for 25… Read more: Congrats to Jim Turek on a Career of Conservation - 2025 Student and ECP Travel Awards
We are happy to announce (belatedly) this year’s travel awards to help you get to San Antonio! All students and early career professionals are eligible. We apologize for the lateness. We are therefore extending the deadline (normally this month) to next month! Get your application in by end of day July 13, 2025, for consideration.… Read more: 2025 Student and ECP Travel Awards - Reminder of 2025 Award Nominations!Nominations for the 2025 Stanley A. Moberly Award for Outstanding Contributions in Fish Habitat Conservation and the Rising Star Award for Outstanding Early-Career Contributions in Fish Habitat Conservation are now being accepted! Both awards were developed by the AFS Fish Habitat Section in partnership with NOAA Fisheries and the National Fish Habitat Partnership (NFHP). Student… Read more: Reminder of 2025 Award Nominations!
- Call for Best Paper Award Chair
The Fish Habitat Section is looking for a Best Student Paper and Poster Award Chair starting this year, assisting with papers at the San Antonio meeting. Chair duties include reviewing scoring criteria and dates, compiling video submissions from students, and arranging judges. All of this occurs online before the meeting, allowing you to have more… Read more: Call for Best Paper Award Chair
