Prairie Rivers Network (PRN) recently celebrated the accomplishments of three Illinoisans, recognizing their leadership in efforts aligned with advancing PRN’s mission of protecting water, healing land, and inspiring change. The celebration took place at PRN’s Annual Dinner event, held October 3 in Champaign.
PRN debuted its inaugural Hannon Seeds of Change Award—named for the organization’s founder, Bruce Hannon—at the event. Hannon, who passed away in 2024, was devoted to growing burr oak trees from acorns as well as mentoring environmental activists. The award is given to Illinois organizers who expertly turn those around them into environmentalists.
Pam and Lan Richart, co-founders of Eco-Justice Collaborative and based in Champaign, IL, are the first recipients of the award. The Richarts have worked with PRN on many projects over the past decade. The two most recently collaborated with PRN on advocating for the passage of legislation protecting the Mahomet Aquifer, a sole source aquifer that is the drinking water for nearly a million people in Illinois, from carbon capture and sequestration.
“I cannot think of more appropriate recipients of an award that recognizes outstanding organizing and leadership,” said Andrew Rehn, PRNs’s director of climate policy. “This power couple seems to accomplish everything they make their goal, and they do this by organizing, building a movement, and creating leaders out of everyday folks, just as Bruce Hannon did.”
PRN’s River Steward Award is given annually in recognition of an individual’s dedication to work on the ground/in the water that makes a real difference in Illinois. 2025’s award was given to Kelly McKay, a wildlife biologist who lives and works in the Quad Cities area. McKay has spent years documenting species in the Milan Bottoms wetlands, both in his paid work and as a volunteer.
As part of a six-year study commissioned by the Army Corps of Engineers, McKay documented the presence of the largest Bald Eagle night roost in the lower 48 states in the Milan Bottoms, and spent 162 volunteer hours there in 2025 documenting 207 terrestrial vertebrate species, some federally- or state-listed as threatened or endangered. His efforts, and his organizing work in the community in partnership with Prairie Rivers Network, have been instrumental in protecting the wetlands from development.
“Kelly’s expertise and research have been tirelessly criticized by the City and developers,” observed Nina Struss, PRN’s river health and resiliency organizer, who presented McKay with the award. “Yet he keeps his head up and his waders in the water.”
“It’s such an inspiration for our entire team to collaborate with and learn from these amazing, motivated people,” said PRN Executive Director Maggie Bruns. “Their dedication and hard work remind us every day that these actions, over time, can have enormous impact and protect future generations. We’re so grateful to Pam, Lan, and Kelly for their tireless efforts on behalf of our environment in Illinois.”
At Prairie Rivers Network (PRN), we protect water, heal land, and inspire change. Using the creative power of science, law, and collective action, we protect and restore our rivers, return healthy soils and diverse wildlife to our lands, and transform how we care for the earth and for each other. PRN is the Illinois affiliate of the National Wildlife Federation.
