Doug Veazey receives Conservationist of the Year Award

Doug Veazey has been honored with the 2025 Ruby Pharr Conservationist of the Year Award by the Foothills Conservancy of North Carolina (FCNC).

A longtime supporter, founding board member, and volunteer, Veazey has received the organization’s highest honor for volunteer service.

Named for late biologist, educator, and founding conservancy member Ruby Pharr, the award recognizes individuals whose dedication and leadership have significantly advanced land and water conservation in the region.

Veazey’s roots with FCNC date back to 1995, when he joined a coalition of local advocates, including Pharr, Bob Benner, and founding director Susie Hamrick Jones, working to protect two threatened tracts near South Mountains State Park: the Rollins Tract and the Morganton Watershed.

Their efforts ultimately secured the permanent protection of more than 23,000 acres, forming today’s South Mountains Game Land and substantially expanding the acreage of South Mountains State Park.

Among Veazey’s most influential contributions is his involvement in conserving nearly 3,000 acres for Lake James State Park in the early 2000s. The land on the Long Arm Peninsula had been slated for high-density development.

Instead, collaboration among FCNC, citizen groups, and the Southern Environmental Law Center ensured its protection for public recreation.

“Every time I walk or ride at Fonta Flora and look across the lake,” Veazey shared, “I’m reminded how special our efforts were and how wonderful the land looks, undeveloped and natural.”

A lifelong outdoor enthusiast, Veazey has continued to give back through stewardship and trail work.

For many years, he has volunteered as a crew leader for the Mountains-to-Sea Trail through the Pisgah National Forest in Burke County, encouraging responsible recreation and Leave No Trace ethics.

“Doug embodies the spirit of the Ruby Pharr Award,” said FCNC Executive Director Andrew Kota. “His vision and perseverance were vital in the formation of our organization and in the permanent protection of places that people now enjoy every day.”

In accepting the award, Veazey expressed gratitude for the community that shares his passion for conservation. “Ruby was a special lady, and I feel honored to receive an award in her name,” he said. “This award is shared by all the wonderful volunteers who labor in our parks and on our trails.”

Foothills Conservancy of North Carolina is a nationally accredited regional land trust that inspires conservation in Western North Carolina by permanently protecting land and water for the benefit of people and all living things.

A 501©(3) nonprofit, FCNC has conserved more than 74,000 acres in its eight-county service area: Alexander, Burke, Caldwell, Catawba, Cleveland, Lincoln, McDowell and Rutherford, in three major river basins: the Broad, Catawba and Yadkin.

FCNC supports and responds to community needs across our programmatic focus areas: land and water protection, farmland preservation, wildlife habitat improvement, forest health and stewardship, public park management, public trail development and maintenance, improving access to natural spaces, community education, and volunteer engagement.

Information about Foothills Conservancy of North Carolina, including ways to support its work, can be found online at www.foothillsconservancy.org or by calling 828-437-9930.

— BP