Name any major conservation project around Ames in recent years, and Erwin Klaas probably had a hand in it.

Klaas' tireless volunteer work has been recognized by the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation. Klaas, an Iowa State University professor emeritus and champion of myriad environmental causes, has been named winner of the 2008 Lawrence and Eula Hagie Heritage Award. The foundation, a nonprofit conservation group, gives the award.

"The foundation presents this award annually to someone who provides extraordinary service for Iowa's environment," foundation President Mark Ackelson said. "Erv has been a model for conservation work in Ames and for the entire state."

Klaas will be awarded $1,000 and a hand-carved acorn sculpture at a celebration this fall. He was chosen from among five nominees, including another Ames resident, Jimmie Thompson.

Other local previous winners include Mike Meetz, of Ames, Bill Horine, of Nevada, and Lloyd and Gaylan Crim, of Boone.

Klaas' nominators believe he stands with the best of Iowa's conservation heroes. They praised the depth and breadth of his advocacy and to civic education.

Klaas was nominated by Sue Ravenscroft, a professor of accounting at Iowa State University; LaVon Griffieon, interim director of 1000 Friends of Iowa; Steve Lekwa, Story County Conservation Board director; Jeri Neal, ecology research leader at ISU's Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture; Laura Belin, 1000 Friends of Iowa board president; and Nancy Carroll, Ames Parks and Recreation director.

Klaas grew up hunting and trapping along the Mississippi River in Missouri where he developed a deep appreciation for nature. He earned degrees from the University of Missouri and the University of Kansas in wildlife conservation and ornithology. After a six-year teaching stint at Rockhurst College in Kansas City, Mo., he joined the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

After arriving at ISU in 1975, he developed the school's first course in restoration ecology, an interest he picked up while serving as a planning adviser for the Neal Smith Wildlife Refuge. At ISU, he worked with the Iowa Cooperative Fish and Wildlife research unit for 25 years.

Klaas' retirement from teaching in 1999 marked the beginning of the work that inspired his nominators. He estimates he spends 30 to 40 hours a week, all as a volunteer, working on his many conservation projects.

Klaas is in his second term as a soil and water district commissioner for Story County and plans to run for a third. The commissioners focus on watershed management and farmland protection, two causes dear to Klaas.

To further advance water quality, Klaas helped start the Urban Resources and Borderland Alliance Network (URBAN) and the Squaw Creek Watershed Coalition. He volunteers as an IOWATER trainer and water quality monitor, among other efforts.

Klaas' other key cause is what he calls sustainable development.

"You develop in a sustainable way that will allow your system to exist for a long time, but hopefully improve it," he said. "We improve the quality of life for humans and all the critters out there, the plants and animals."

That involves developing in ways that conserve biodiversity for future generations.

"Smart growth," or using land efficiently and growing with minimal impact on the environment, is essential for Klaas. He fights to stop urban sprawl, saying people must learn to live in higher densities instead of over-building. He formed the Ames Smart Growth Alliance to promote that goal in his area, and he is involved with 1000 Friends of Iowa to spread the word across the state.

Klaas' proudest achievement was a culmination of his priorities. He was instrumental in turning Hallett's Quarry on Ames' north side into Ada Hayden Heritage Park. When a housing development was proposed for the site, Klaas led the bond campaign for Ames to buy the gravel pit and convert it to a park. This success saved a high-quality source of drinking water for Ames and provided a green space for city dwellers to enjoy.

Klaas' far-reaching conservation endeavors range from prairie restoration to wildlife conservation. When an organization for his latest project doesn't exist, he creates one.

He also hopes to promote nature education by taking a version of the popular "Ames Reads Leopold" event that he organized into schools. He wants to get children exposed to nature, like he was, so they will come to appreciate our natural resources and the need to preserve them.

In the meantime, Klaas has no plans to slow the pace of his own education and involvement.

"Education doesn't stop," he said. "Here I am in my 70s, and I'm still learning, still reading."