PAUL SMITHS — The Adirondack Research Consortium announced Tuesday that Dr. Jay Curtis Stager will be receiving the 2023 Thorndike Adirondack Achievement Award.

Stager, an esteemed Paul Smith’s College professor of Natural Sciences, is an author, radio co-host, musician and an ecologist, paleoclimatologist and science journalist with a Ph.D. in biology and geology from Duke University. His diverse background and communication skills have enabled him to contribute immensely to the long-term sustainability of the Adirondacks.

The award will be presented at an awards luncheon on Thursday, May 18, at the Lake Placid Conference Center during the 27th annual Conference on the Adirondacks. Assemblyman Billy Jones and Dr. Dan Kelting, interim president of Paul Smith’s College, are set to give remarks at the award luncheon.

“We are honored to award Dr. Stager the 2023 Thorndike Adirondack Achievement Award,” said Dan Fitts, executive director of the Adirondack Research Consortium. “His dedication to the long-term sustainability of the Adirondacks, combined with his exceptional communication skills, make him the perfect recipient of this award.”

The award is given annually to an individual or group of individuals who have made significant contributions to the long-term sustainability of the Adirondack Park. Past recipients include Bill Porter from Michigan State University, Nina Schoch from the Adirondack Loon Center, Ray Curran, an Adirondack ecologist, Eileen Allen from SUNY Plattsburgh, Joe Martens, the former commissioner of the state Department of Environmental Conservation, and Jerry Jenkins from the Wildlife Conservation Society. It is named in honor of long-time Adirondack advocate Dr. Elizabeth Thorndike.

For more information on this award and the annual Conference on the Adirondacks, visit adkresearch.org or contact Dan Fitts at adkresearchconsortium@gmail.com or by phone at 518-241-6186.