A LEGISLATIVE COMMEMORATION, Honoring the Bien Ranch as the 2022 Leopold Conservation Award recipient.

WHEREAS, the Leopold Conservation Award, named for renowned conservationist Aldo Leopold, recognizes farm and ranch families who demonstrate outstanding conservation leadership on their land and in their communities; and

WHEREAS, a commitment to the health of South Dakota's natural resources is exemplified by the Bien Ranch as the recipient of the 2022 Leopold Conservation Award; and

WHEREAS, the Bien family's dedication to conservation has allowed them to sustain the landscape of the ranch while earning their livelihood from it since it was homesteaded by Ole Bien in 1888; and

WHEREAS, Neil and Muriel Bien, Boyd and Lyle Bien and their families, and Neil's grandson, Nate, focus on being environmentally sound and economically viable, recognizing that "if you don't do things that are profitable, you won't have anyone here, and if you don't have anyone here, you can't take care of the environment"; and

WHEREAS, the Bien Ranch is an intact representation of the prairies, wetlands, and woodlands that South Dakota's Prairie Coteau glacial landscape is known for; and

WHEREAS, wildlife food plots, tree planting, and other wooded areas offering protection to wildlife and livestock are carefully placed to not impact species that rely on open native prairies; and

WHEREAS, Neil Bien's philosophy that "sustainability is not possible if you exploit, exhaust, or use it up" led him to preserve one hundred natural wetlands and restore fifteen wetland basins across the Bien Ranch:

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT COMMEMORATED, by the Ninety-Eighth Legislature of the State of South Dakota, that the Bien Ranch is the recipient of the 2022 Leopold Conservation Award in South Dakota.