Anthony Mallott volunteers as a children's surf coach with Yakutat Surf Club at Cannon Beach, Yakutat in 2022. Anthony was awarded the Olin Sims Conservation Leadership Award by the National Association of Conservation Districts. (Photo by Bethany S. Goodrich)
‘Sustainable communities make sustainable decisions’
Award is conferred on one up-and-coming leader who demonstrates excellence in promoting and leading voluntary conservation on private lands.
Tripp J Crouse / Spruce Root
Spruce Root, Sustainable Southeast Partnership (SSP) and the Seacoast Trust want to congratulate Gunnuk Anthony Mallott on receiving the Olin Sims Conservation Leadership Award at the 78th annual National Association of Conservation Districts meeting in San Diego.
The Olin Sims Award is conferred on one up-and-coming leader who demonstrates excellence in promoting and leading voluntary conservation on private lands.
Anthony is Tlingit, Eagle of the Tsaagweidí (Killerwhale) Clan, and Koyukon Athabascan, Caribou Clan. He is the first Indigenous person to win the award and was nominated by Samia Savell, District Conservationist of the Natural Resources Conservation Service with the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
“Sustainable communities make sustainable decisions. Communities at risk make short-term decisions based on immediate need,” Anthony said about the work of the Seacoast Trust and SSP. “The Seacoast Trust will help create sustainability across the region through proven Indigenous stewardship.”
Anthony currently serves on the Spruce Root board of directors and the Southeast Sustainability Partnership Steering Committee and is a former president and chief executive officer of Sealaska Corporation, the Southeast Alaska regional Alaska Native corporation and largest private landowner in the region.
During his time as Sealaska CEO and president, the corporation transitioned out of the logging business after more than 40 years on its more than 300,000 acres, and also began participating in California’s cap-and-trade program through the corporation's carbon-offset project in which it was issued credits and contributed to one of Sealaska’s biggest net income years on record.
Sealaska continues to work with the U.S. Forest Service to sustain bark programs and ensure logs continue to be available to artists for cultural purposes such as carving canoes and poles.
Anthony stepped down from his role at Sealaska on January 1, 2024, to help the Alaska Native corporation shape a new leadership structure for the future.
“Anthony helped bring Sealaska to this place of tremendous strength,” Sealaska Board Executive Chair Joe Nelson said. “We are grateful for his care and commitment, and for his ongoing partnership. He will play an integral role working alongside us over the coming months, helping to shape our leadership approach for the years to come.”
The Sealaska Corporation serves Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian shareholders across Southeast Alaska and beyond.
The award is named for the late NACD President Olin Sims who devoted years of distinguished service to conservation initiatives at the Wyoming state and national levels.