THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, March 26, 1995 TAG: 9503240207
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 23 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DEBBIE MESSINA, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 62 lines
Molly P. Brown, a persistent and tireless advocate for Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge and local environmental causes, has been named the nation's Outstanding Refuge Volunteer by the National Wildlife Refuge Association and the National Audubon Society.
``Molly's one of a kind,'' said Joe McCauley, acting refuge manager at Back Bay who, along with local, state and congressional officials, nominated Brown for the award. ``She's made an incredible difference at Back Bay refuge.
``But Molly's not just a volunteer and advocate for us in the community, but also in Washington.''
Anthony D. Leger, former refuge manager, once said of Brown: ``When you care, you persevere. She's not hard-nosed. She's deliberate. I don't know what she is. She's good.''
As leader of Friends of Back Bay/Save Our Sandbridge, Brown has been credited with helping wrangle more than $7 million out of Congress since 1990 to purchase land for the refuge's expansion.
The money, along with $3 million from the Migratory Bird Conservation Fund, which is collected from the sale of duck stamps and admission fees to refuges, has purchased 3,200 acres of swamp, forests and farmland.
The expansion calls for buying 6,300 acres that surround the refuge and the bay to protect wildlife and natural resources.
``It's almost unheard of for an expansion to be halfway complete in five years,'' McCauley said.
The former elementary schoolteacher began her lobbying career in the late 1980s, spending two years on a telephone campaign to educate anyone who would listen about the little-known treasures of Back Bay refuge.
In the ultimate payoff, the refuge last year was home to its first pair of nesting bald eagles, which bore two eaglets, on land purchased with congressional money that had been slated for development.
Like a proud parent, the ever-polite Brown sent birth announcements to congressmen and senators.
Brown works on the local level too, opposing development around Back Bay and Sandbridge that would threaten the natural resources.
While her professional face is often found behind governmental podiums, her dirt smeared, sweaty face is often seen at the refuge planting trees, restoring wetlands, collecting trash, conducting tours for teachers and even washing windows.
``Her efforts have produced results that benefit fish, wildlife and the human environment of this community,'' wrote one of her nominators.
Brown and her husband, William, an anesthesiologist, are in Minneapolis this weekend so she can accept the award at the North American Wildlife and Natural Resources Conference.
``There are thousands of volunteers at 500 national wildlife refuges, so I feel very honored they selected me,'' Brown said. ILLUSTRATION: Molly Brown is leader of Friends of Back Bay/Save Our
Sandbridge.
KEYWORDS: PROFILE AWARD by CNB