Liz Thompson, a renowned ecologist and botanist, has been awarded the 2025 Sally Laughlin Award by the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources for her pivotal role in land and biodiversity conservation across the state for more than three decades.
Thompson, managing editor of the regional conservation journal From the Ground Up, has mentored over 200 students through the University of Vermont’s Field Naturalist Program, helping to shape the next generation of conservation leaders. She also served on the Endangered Species Committee from 2015 to 2022 and helped advance protections in Vermont’s endangered species law.
“Liz’s legacy as a scientist, educator and advocate makes her a deserving recipient of this prestigious honor,” said Agency of Natural Resources Secretary Julie Moore. “Her work with the Vermont Land Trust, The Nature Conservancy and the Vermont Natural Heritage Inventory, as well as her service with the Agency’s Endangered Species Committee, has left a lasting mark on the state’s natural landscape.”