Gale Dupree, Loyalton, Calif.

Dupree noticed a decline of sage grouse in Nevada, so he helped develop a handbook that informs landowners of how to improve nesting habitat for the birds. He also mobilizes volunteers to count leks (strutting grounds) in spring. "They're what you call an indicator species," Dupree says of grouse. "If they're not doing well, other populations of wildlife are not doing well, either." A 30-year member of the Nevada Wildlife Federation, he serves on several local conservation boards.

Rob Cotiaux, New Gloucester, Maine

"I grew up with this idea: You love to hunt, you love to fish, you have to put back," says Cotiaux. As president of the National Wild Turkey Federation's Maine chapter, he leads a trap-and-transfer program, advises landowners on how to improve their woods with thinning procedures, organizes census counts, and puts on biology seminars at high schools. "We have the birds," he says. "Now our big goal is improving habitat through public education."

Les Murray, Galloway, N.J.

Murray installs containers for discarded fishing line on docks and inside tackle shops. Fishermen can drop off their old monofilament, which line manufacturer Berkley then converts into fish habitat structures. A volunteer for the Atlantic County Chapter of the New Jersey State Federation of Sportsmen's Clubs and the Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, Murray also does outreach programs, such as teaching inner-city students about topics like solar energy.