Utah conservancy advocate honored

Dave Livermore, director of The Nature Conservancy of Utah, was honored Tuesday for his passionate commitment to preserving land throughout the Great Basin region.

Livermore was named one of six winners of the ChevronTexaco Conservation Awards. He was presented with the award in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

"He has raised the profile of many conservation issues, but particularly the need for balance between growth and preservation of open space benefiting the entire cause of conservation in our state," said John Milliken, co-chairman of the board, The Nature Conservancy of Utah.

Livermore has been the executive director for the past two decades. During that time, the organization has completed more than 100 conservation projects, which have protected more than 800,000 acres of public and private land in Utah.

An independent panel of leading conservationists selected the winners. Each award recipient received a $10,000 prize.