Kim Royar, wildlife biologist with Vermont Fish & Wildlife and resident of Wallingford, was awarded the 2017 Canute Dalmasse Award by Agency of Natural Resources Secretary Julie Moore in recognition of her outstanding contributions to conservation. The Canute Dalmasse Award is given annually to an agency employee who demonstrates an exceptional dedication to natural resources, the protection of public health, the people of Vermont, and to her co-workers.
Nominated by her peers for the agency-wide award, Royar was lauded for her integrity, sense of humor, and commitment to conserving natural resources for the people of Vermont. Royar has worked for the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department for 35 years, during which she has served as district wildlife biologist, working to protect wildlife habitat and to conserve a wide range of species from beavers to bobcats. Royar has also been instrumental in reintroducing a native weasel species, the American marten, to Vermont. More recently, Royar served as deputy commissioner and as special assistant to the commissioner.
“People choose to work at Vermont Fish & Wildlife because they want to work alongside unceasingly dedicated and committed people like Kim,” wrote Eric Sorenson, a Fish & Wildlife Department ecologist, in his nomination of Royar for the award. “Her conservation and personal ethics make her an unparalleled advocate. She is a field biologist and is at home in the woods, but she is also adept at engaging with the public, listening to others, finding common ground, and working towards solutions that are fair and effective.”
Fish & Wildlife Commissioner Louis Porter echoed Sorenson’s comments. “It’s rare that someone has as much credibility with as broad a spectrum of people as Kim has,” he said. “In part that’s because she lives by the science. Kim always welcomes new ideas, but she rightly demands that those ideas be honest, real and true, and devoted to protecting Vermont’s wildlife without resorting to shortcuts.”
Porter added that although Royar is among the most accomplished and busiest scientists in state government, she always takes the time to talk with an individual student, amateur naturalist, or beginning hunter or trapper. “She has never forgotten the department’s obligation to conserve all species for the good of all Vermonters,” he said.
Royar will continue her role as furbearer project leader and district wildlife biologist in Springfield, Vt.