Steward of God's Creation Award

The Steward of God?s Creation award is bestowed to those individuals who exhibit courage and commitment in the caring and keeping of the earth in a heroic, distinguished and effective manner. Awardees are determined by a vote of religious leaders and bestowed at a public event, normally the National Prayer Breakfast for Creation Care, which is sponsored annually by a coalition of religious organizations and affiliates.

Chad Hanson
Grass Valley, California
In l989, Chad and his brother Kirk hiked the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) from the U.S.-Mexican border all the way to Canada. Over five months and four days they traveled 2,700 miles, mostly through National Forest back-country. They discovered while on this long distance adventure that our National Forests were being systematically logged and destroyed by commercial timber companies. They were horrified at extensive clearcuts and devastated hillsides.

While sitting on a huge stump at the top of a barren mountain, without a standing tree within 360 degrees, Chad vowed that he would work to stop this destruction and desecration of God's creation. He went to law school and obtained a degree in environmental law. He then wrote, with legislative assistants, the National Forest Protection and Restoration Act, which was introduced into the 106th Congress.

Chad then spearheaded a campaign within the Sierra Club which resulted in the Club taking a stand to end commercial logging on America’s National Forests. This was the first time that the Sierra Club had taken such a stand against logging in the National Forests.

For this action as well as his continuing service to forests through the John Muir Project (JMP) which brings lawsuits against the federal government for improper logging on National Forest land, Chad received a 1999 Steward of the Forest award.