Jeff Turner, Sedley, Va.

A largemouth bass fisherman, Turner created the first Waterkeeper Alliance chapter in Virginia 12 years ago to protect the Blackwater and Nottoway Rivers. Turner gives presentations about the rivers’ key species, organizes an annual trash cleanup, guides researchers surveying mussels and striped bass, and reports on his regular patrols of the waterways and their resources. “It’s like preventative medicine,” says Turner. Through his presentations, he was recently instrumental in helping the Nature Conservancy acquire 250 acres at Byrd Point for permanent protection.

David McNeal, St. George, Kan.

For the past six years, McNeal has guided hunters, free of charge, on Kansas’s Fort Riley, where he served as a first sergeant in the U.S. Army. Through his role on the board of the Fort Riley Outdoorsmen Group (FROG), he recently ran an annual turkey hunt for 17 children of soldiers deployed overseas. “I know every inch of this post,” he says, “and I apply that knowledge to getting young people involved.”

Teeg Stouffer, Bellevue, Neb.

Ten years ago, Stouffer created the nonprofit Recycled Fish, which is devoted to the stewardship of all fish species and fishing waters nationwide. With the help of 120 volunteers around the country, the organization’s educational outreach has influenced 15,000-plus people to take its Sportsman’s Stewardship Pledge. The group’s Recycled Fish on Ice Tour has distributed 10,000 heavy-duty cleanup bags at ice fishing tournaments over the past six years.