WDA Awards

Awards are given to recognize individuals outstanding work in wildlife health and service to the Association.

Ed Addison Distinguished Service Award: The Ed Addison DSA honors a member of long standing who, by his/her/their outstanding accomplishments in research, teaching and other wildlife disease and ecosystem health activities, as well as contributions to the WDA, has made a noteworthy contribution in furthering the mission of the Association.

Emerit Award: The Emerit Award is an honorary category of membership awarded by the Council to members who have retired from their profession and who in the opinion of Council have contributed significantly to the study of wildlife disease and ecosystem health.

Tom Thorne and Beth Williams Memorial Award: The Award is given jointly by the WDA and the American Association of Wildlife Veterinarians to an individual or group in acknowledgement of either an exemplary contribution or achievement combining wildlife disease research with wildlife management policy implementation or elucidating particularly significant problems in wildlife health.

Carlton M. Herman Founder’s Fund: The fund was established to honor the interests and contributions of Dr. Carlton Herman.  Currently, the fund supports the selection and participation of a cutting-edge speaker at the Annual International Conference to address the relationships of wildlife population health and changes in habitat and ecosystems. The scope includes all animals, including the human species. The fund may also be used to support other activities as determined by the trustees of the fund, consistent with the original intent of the fund’s founding.

Student Awards: Awards include, a graduate research recognition award, two scholarship awards and several presentation awards at the annual international WDA conference. In addition, the WDA offers joint awards with the International Association of Aquatic Animal Medicine (IAAAM) and BioOne to recognize outstanding student-authored papers in the Journal of Wildlife Diseases (JWD). The aim of these awards is to recognize outstanding student research, scholarship, presentations, and communication in the field of wildlife health, to encourage student participation in the Association and to support and encourage active student attendance at our annual international conference.

Wildlife Veterinary Section Travel Award: This is awarded annually to an accepted presenter to the annual international meeting that meets the following criteria: Is a current member of the WDA and the Wildlife Veterinary Section, has an abstract accepted for poster or oral presentation, is a current student or have graduated with a degree from a college, university, or professional school within the last 5 years and has not received any other travel awards for the meeting (example: WDA Student Activities Committee Travel Grant).

Duck Award: The Duck Award is presented to a recipient to acknowledge a particularly embarrassing incident (e.g., foible/mistake) that occurs at the annual meeting.