Donald Carter, Gainesville, Ga.

The volunteer head of land acquisitions for the Georgia Department of Natural Resources for 29 years, Carter made 360,000 acres of formerly private land available for public use. “Hunters needed to fill the void created when timber companies started leasing their holdings,” he says, “so I got with the governor and said, ‘Let’s solve it.’” Carter stepped down from the DNR board in 2002. “Acquiring all that land has been a life project for me,” says Carter, “and I’m proud of it.” Construction on a 1,100-acre park named in his honor on Lake Lanier, Georgia’s busiest lake, should begin this summer.

Lee Vogel, Kansas City, Mo.

Vogel cofounded the Missouri Hunting Heritage Federation with a group of other volunteer hunter-education instructors when they realized that many of their students never got a chance to hunt after leaving class. They expanded their first youth hunt into a free weekend clinic that has guided nearly 150 families since 2008. “I was one of those city kids until my stepfather shared his passion for duck hunting and boating, and it opened up a lot of things for me.”

David Ramsey, Unicoi, Tenn.

Over breakfasts at a local steakhouse, Ramsey brokered key relationships between local sportsmen’s groups, conservation organizations, and government representatives, which ultimately helped secure public access to the 10,000-acre Rocky Fork watershed. The public-private partnership, including the Conservation Fund and the Southern Ap­pa­la­chian Highlands Conservancy, obtained $40 million in funding. “Everyone worked together in concert and never gave up.”