At a ceremony on June 15 in Winona, Minn., Ed Britton, manager of the Savanna District of the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge in Savanna, Ill., received the Department of Interior's Superior Service Award for his vision and eight-year campaign to transform a portion of the former Savanna Army Depot into the Lost Mound Unit of the ?Upper Miss? refuge.

"Many played a role in bringing former Depot lands into the protective fold of the Refuge System, but I don't think it would have happened without Ed's steadfast determination. He has helped leave a legacy for the future," said Don Hultman, manager of the Upper Miss Refuge complex and Britton's supervisor.

The former 13,062-acre Depot is located on the eastern bank of the Mississippi River in Carroll and Jo Daviess Counties in northwest Illinois. The Depot, used since 1917 to test cannons as well as manufacture and store ammunition and other ordnance, was identified for closure under the Base Realignment and Closure Act in 1995 and officially closed on March 18, 2000. After eight years of intricate negotiations involving Britton, the U.S. Army and other agencies, the 9,400 acre Lost Mount Unit became a reality in September 2003. The Lost Mound Unit is managed by the Savanna District and contains the largest tract of tallgrass prairie remaining in Illinois, and several thousand acres of Mississippi River bottomlands, all critical to wildlife and a number of rare, threatened, or endangered species.

?From the beginning, negotiations for the Lost Mound Unit were fraught with controversy, competing interests, and difficult contaminant issues,? explained Hultman. ?Ed handled these challenges. He withstood criticism and multiple agency staff changes to author an agreement with the Department of Army that paved the way for creation of the Lost Mound Unit.?

Born and raised in Cairo, Ill., Britton moved to Ottawa, Ill., in 1964 and graduated from Ottawa Township high school in 1967. After completing Illinois Valley Community College in 1969, he enlisted in the Army for three years, spending one year in Vietnam where he earned the Bronze Star and Silver Star medals. In 1976, he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Zoology from Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Ill. Britton began his career with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 1977 and has worked at five national wildlife refuges around the country. He became manager of the Savanna District in 1995.