The conservation fund announces 2001 CF Industries National Watershed Award winners

ARLINGTON, Va., October 30, 2001 — The Conservation Fund announced today that watershed groups based in Alaska, Idaho, Wisconsin and Vermont received the 2001 CF Industries National Watershed Award for demonstrating effective nonregulatory approaches to improve water quality.

This year's winners are protecting a small coastal stream in Alaska, a 500-mile long watershed in Idaho, Montana and Washington, a 1,800-acre preserve in southern Wisconsin and the Lake Champlain Water Basin in Vermont, New York and the province of Quebec.

The recipients of the 2001 CF Industries National Watershed Award are the:

* Duck Creek Watershed Management Project in Juneau, Alaska

* Tri-State Water Quality Council based in Sandhill, Idaho

* Riverland Conservancy established by Madison, Wis.-based Alliant Energy

* Lake Champlain Water Basin Program based in Grand Isle, Vt.

Three communities and one corporation are honored annually for innovative local partnerships that seek to improve water quality by balancing a watershed's environmental and economic needs and emphasizing economic incentives, voluntary initiatives and education.

Partnerships, community outreach, education, stream and wetlands restoration and reductions in runoff pollution are some of the highlights of this year's winning programs.

"These recipients demonstrate that great things can be accomplished to improve our watersheds through leadership, cooperation, commitment and innovation," said CF Industries President and Chief Executive Officer Robert C. Liuzzi. "We hope that other watershed organizations can learn from the success of the model programs we are honoring today."

Here are some of the significant achievements of the winning watershed programs:

* The Duck Creek Watershed Management Project has become a national demonstration site to display stream and wetland technology.

* Tri-State Water Quality Council volunteers stretch across a 500-mile long area from Butte, Mont., to the Idaho Panhandle, to northeastern Washington to protect the Clark Fork-Pend Oreille Watershed.

* Alliant Energy chose to establish preserves in southern Wisconsin instead of selling the land for development.

* The Lake Champlain Water Basin Program estimates it will achieve a 38.8 metric ton reduction in phosphate runoff into the basin because of several innovative initiatives.

The CF Industries National Watershed Award was established in 1996 as an outgrowth of the National Forum on Nonpoint Source Pollution convened by the National Geographic Society and The Conservation Fund. The goal of the National Forum was to identify and implement innovative, nonregulatory solutions to "nonpoint source pollution" - runoff from farms, construction sites, lawns and parking lots - based on economic incentives, voluntary initiatives and education.

CF Industries is one of North America's largest interregional cooperatives, owned by and serving nine regional cooperatives. The company distributes its nitrogen and phosphate products to farmers and ranchers in 48 states and two Canadian provinces. CF is headquartered in Long Grove, Ill. www.cfindustries.com

The award is administered by The Conservation Fund, a nonprofit organization based in Arlington, Va., that acts to protect the nation's land and water resources. The Conservation Fund works in partnership with other organizations, public agencies, foundations, corporations and individuals. Since its establishment in 1985, the organization has helped its partners safeguard wildlife habitat, greenways, community "greenspace" and historic sites totaling three million acres throughout the United States. Fundraising expenses make up just 1 percent of the organization's total expenditures.