University Daily Kansan / Friday, September 19, 1986
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KU zoologist wins honor
Collins named 'Conservationist of the Year'
Staff writer
By TONY BALANDRAN
When Joseph Collins returned home Monday from a "working vacation" at Reeffoot Lake in north Tennessee, he found a letter he wasn't expecting on his office desk.
The letter informed Collins, a zoologist for KU's Museum of Natural History, that the Kansas Wildlife Federation had named him the 1986 recipient of the Conservationist of the Year award.
"I got calls congratulating me before I found out that I won," said Collins. "I was surprised to learn the news when I got back from vacation."
Collins, 47, said his interest in resource and wildlife conservation, which existed "since day one," had led him to spend one and a half years co-writing and editing his latest book, "Natural Kansas." He credits the book with getting him the award.
The highest honor bestowed annually by the KWF, Conservationist of the Year recognizes the achievements of the individual considered to have made the most significant contribution to the cause of conservation of natural resources of Kansas.
Collins, along with seven other recipients of different awards from the KWF, will be honored at an annual awards banquet at 7 p.m. Oct.11 in Topeka
Collins, who earned a two-year
degree in zoology from the University of Cincinnati, is also editor for all the publications written by the KU museum. He is originally from Cincinnati.
Collins' book and his past endeavors qualified him for the award, said George Pisani, director of undergraduate biology laboratories.
Collins wrote three of the 11 chapters in "Natural Kansas" and said he informed other authors as to what needed to be included in the text, he said.
Part of the research required for the book called for Collins to explore Kansas in detail.
And that is exactly what he did when he visited each of the 105 counties in the state.
"I've photographed in them. I've chased wildlife in them and I've camped out in them." Collins said.
"Natural Kansas' is the culmination of his conservation efforts," said Pisani, one of several people who nominated Collins for the award. "His aim is not directed to the technical world because the biologist is not in need of having his awareness raised."
Collins also said he was grateful that the KWF recognized his interest in conservation.
"This is probably the only conservationist award you can get in the state," he said.
His interest in conservation began at age 19, when he and three other teenagers began the Ohio
Herpetological Society, with a membership of 25, said Collins. They also produced a journal under the same name.
By 1967, most of their members lived outside of Ohio, so they changed the name to the Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles. By 1978, it was the largest international society in that profession with 2,600 members representing 20 countries.
Pisani joined the society in 1962, but did not meet Collins until 1970.
"I saw him do many things in a low-key fashion to foster conservation awareness." Pisani said.
Collins was president of the Kansas Association of Biology Teachers in 1980 and has been chairman of the State Fish and Game Department's Herpetology Committee since 1975.
In 1979, he was named KU's Classified Employee of the Year and in 1984 received the University's Certificate of Appreciation from Chancellor Gene A. Budig
Collins has written six other books, including four field guides to Kansas animals. He also is a wildlife photographer, whose photographs have appeared in Audubon Society field guides and other books worldwide.
He has written more than 100 articles for publications ranging from technical journals to popular magazines.
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