Michael Ellis, Portland, Ore.

The conservation director for the Tualatin Valley chapter of Oregon Trout Unlimited, Ellis dedicated more than 100 hours to organizing the collection of 500 discarded Christmas trees that will serve as coho salmon spawning habitat in the Necanicum River. “We have submerged trees in 40 yards of off-channel wetland areas and slack water, and we’ve seen almost immediate utilization by coho fry,” he says.

Anthony Pace, Elizabeth, Colo.

In 2005, Pace founded the nonprofit group Freedom Hunters to bring together a national network of hundreds—volunteers, outfitters, and landowners—to give active and recovering military service members and their families the chance to reconnect with the outdoor sports, free of charge. “Harvesting game is secondary on these trips,” says Pace, whose organization has benefited more than 1,000 people so far.

Gene Wright, Burley, Idaho

As a volunteer reservist with the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, Wright has spent 22 years assisting state biologists with creel surveys, pheasant stocking, willow planting, habitat protection, garbage removal, and more in his spare time—all to benefit fish and wildlife. “There’s always something different, and that’s part of what makes it exciting,” says Wright, who has logged more than 8,000 hours with the reservists. He has also spent five years assisting with the department’s Take Me Fishing Program, which introduces 2,500 kids annually to the sport.