Cliff Brown, Rock Hall, Md.

When Brown noticed wood-duck boxes in need of repair while on a public tour of DuPont’s Chesapeake Farms in late 2004, he offered to rehab the nesting structures. The Maryland DNR learned about the project and offered Brown duck-stamp funds to finance the restoration of boxes at other sites, inspiring him to launch the Maryland Wood Duck Initiative. “There was so much established habitat in need of TLC,” says Brown. “We needed to develop a network of people willing to help.” They now manage 75 nesting sites, encompassing 1,900 boxes, where they have counted more than 25,000 ducklings since 2005.

Karen Metzker, Medina, Ohio

In 2008, Metzker created Lake and Trails, a biannual youth outdoor camp with four levels of coursework, and with the help of over 30 sponsors and 150 volunteer instructors she has been teaching hundreds of kids about the outdoors. “We stress safety, we provide certified, experienced instructors, and we get the parents involved,” says Metzker. “It’s a true passion, so it doesn’t feel like work.” Program grads go on a pheasant hunt sponsored by the Ohio Division of Wildlife.

Jay Stokes, Louisville, Miss.

Stokes started organizing youth hunts in 2003, when he was managing deer for a private landowner. “We had to harvest does, so I figured we could give some kids a chance,” says Stokes. He and friends guided seven kids from Palmer Home for Children, a local foster home, on their first hunt. It became an annual event, and last year he created the nonprofit group Break-Away Outdoors to provide hunting and fishing opportunities year-round.