CLARKSVILLE, TN – Dr. Dwayne Estes, Austin Peay State University professor of biology, principal investigator for the Center of Excellence for Field Biology and cofounder and executive director of the Southeastern Grasslands Institute, has been named a Champion of Conservation by Garden & Gun Magazine.
Highlighting the efforts of 10 people called to the vital work of conservation, Garden & Gun declared that “the work of this year’s under-the-radar Southern eco-heroes is more important than ever.”
Estes has positioned SGI as the premier grassland restoration institution in the Eastern United States. His work has united partners for on-the-ground conservation, research and education, developed approaches to curb Southeastern grasslands loss and recreate lost landscapes, trained the next generation of conservationists in biodiversity research, seed banking and restoration, and workshop solutions for lost grasslands throughout the Eastern United States.
In eight years, Estes has grown the initial seed money he received into $45 million in grants for mapping and restoration projects all over the region. SGI aims to have directly conserved 250,000 acres of grasslands by 2050.
From Garden & Gun: “While traveling extensively during his PhD research, Estes realized that grassland habitats—an astounding 118 types exist across the Southeast, from prairies to savannas to meadows to coastal dunelands—were little appreciated and fast disappearing. Most of the estimated 120 million acres of original grasslands had turned into cropland or pastures seeded with nonnative species, and fire suppression and development threatened what little remained. Estes had found his calling.”
In 2024, Estes was named an honorary member by the Garden Club of America, and he is a member of numerous professional societies. His recognition in Garden & Gun is the latest in a long line of accolades for Estes, who was also the subject of the Emmy Award-winning documentary The Prairie Preacher.