Outdoor writer and conservationist Robert Whitescarver received two Excellence-in-Craft (EIC) awards at the Virginia Outdoors Writers Association (VOWA) annual meeting held Charlottesville. Bobby, as he is known throughout the Shenandoah Valley and Chesapeake Bay, took home a first place for his blog, “Getting More on the Ground,” and third place for his column “Save the Farm, Save the Bay.” Bobby serves on The Downstream Project’s board of directors; TDP provides web support for Getting More on the Ground.

The VOWA EIC contest was created to recognize outstanding work in the field of outdoor communication. Awards were presented in column writing, photography, illustration, blogs, feature writing, newsletters, books, conservation writing, and fly fishing. The article that captured first prize for the blog was “Fueling Stations for monarchs.” Judges were impressed with the layout and design, the good use and quality of the photographs and the accuracy of the subject matter.

Bobby is a watershed restoration scientist, farmer, award-winning writer, and educator.   He retired from the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service with 31 years of field experience.  He has helped farmers all over Virginia exclude livestock from more than 500 miles of stream banks.  He and his wife run a commercial cow calf operation in Swoope, VA.

Bobby is also  president of Whitescarver Natural Resources Management LLC, an environmental consulting firm, and teaches Natural Resource Management at James Madison University. He has been published in USA Today, Virginia Cattleman, Virginia Wildlife Magazine, The Bay Journal and several newspapers throughout the country. In 2002, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation chose him as the “Conservationist of the Year” and in 2016 he was chosen as Watershed Champion by the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay.

VOWA is a nearly 50-year-old nonprofit coalition of outdoor communicators who inform through various media on the out-of-doors and its enjoyment. Its members strive to improve themselves in their craft, increase the knowledge and understanding of the outdoors and promote the future of the craft and the appreciation of the outdoors through its youth writing and photography contests.

Reach Bobby through his website at www.gettingmoreontheground.com.