Smokey Bear Awards

Award Winners (2026)

To see award winners from last year (2025), please click here.

Gold: Nationwide Wildfire Prevention

This is the highest honor given to organizations, teams, or individuals for outstanding wildfire prevention service over at least a two-year period that is national in scope. A maximum of three Gold Smokey Bear Awards may be given annually.

Sam Scranton

Sam is the Deputy Director of Fuels Management for the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). He led the development of the Wildfire Prevention and Spatial Assessment and Planning Strategies (WPSAPS), a risk assessment tool that provides users with research-informed prevention actions based on a geospatial assessment of risks, hazards, and values. This modernized tool has reduced wildfire starts by as much as 20 percent on BIA lands. WPSAPS has now been implemented in several federal agencies and tribes and has potential for even greater wildfire prevention.

USDA Forest Service Southern Region Fire and Aviation Management, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport Art, and the Southern Group of State Foresters

This interagency team collaborated with Atlanta Airport art program in Georgia to display Smokey Bear art by Rudy Wendelin and share wildfire prevention messaging through an exhibit in a main terminal with millions of visitors from across the country and around the world. While a traditional advertising campaign of this size would be cost prohibitive, the Atlanta Airport art program did not charge for the exhibit space. During a lapse of funding in fall 2025, southern state forestry agencies stepped up to help staff the exhibit, interacting with visitors and answering questions about wildfires.

Silver: Regionwide Wildfire Prevention

This is the highest honor given to organizations, teams, or individuals for outstanding wildfire prevention service over at least a two-year period that is regional (multi-state) in scope. A maximum of five Silver Smokey Bear Awards may be given annually.

Clarence “Charlie” Berry

Charlie was a California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) Volunteer in Prevention (VIP) for 45 years. He sadly passed away in December 2025. Charlie was a constant source of fire prevention expertise not only in his community, but statewide and regionally through the Rose Bowl Parade and Camp Smokey at the California State Fair. His lifelong dedication to wildfire prevention, motivated only by passion, is inspiring to all.

Bronze: Statewide Wildfire Prevention

This is the highest honor given to organizations, teams, or individuals for outstanding wildfire prevention service over at least a two-year period that has impact within a state. A maximum of ten Bronze Smokey Bear Awards may be given annually.

Captain Eric O’Connor

Rapid City Fire Department Captain Eric O’Connor worked with the Bureau of Land Management district to create a workforce program that provides recent military veterans with training and hands-on experience in wildfire prevention, fuels mitigation, and operational activities. The program continues to grow beyond Rapid City, South Dakota, sustaining wildfire prevention education and actively reducing wildfire risk. Captain O’Connor used prescribed burns and other mitigation activities as an opportunity to educate his community and strengthen partnerships. 

Friends of the Bridger-Teton

Friends of the Bridger-Teton (Friends) is a nonprofit organization that helps steward the Bridger-Teton National Forest in Wyoming. Their ambassador program locates and extinguishes abandoned campfires, a leading cause of human-caused wildfires. As a nonprofit with fundraising ability, Friends purchased supplies to increase fire prevention programming capacity including metal fire rings and “Drown, Stir, Drown, Feel” stickers for firewood. They also train local youth as interns to prepare the next generation of fire prevention professionals.

Karen Harrison

Karen is the Minnesota Statewide Fire Prevention Coordinator who took the initiative to completely redesign the wildfire exhibit at the Minnesota State Fair. This program significantly increased the number of Minnesotans engaging with Smokey and his message. Karen organized a team of subject matter experts and communications staff to ensure messaging was both accurate and engaging. The result is a brand-new Smokey exhibit at the State Fair with record numbers of visitors learning about wildfire prevention.

Kathy Slade

Kathy is a Museum Educator at the Firefighters Association of the State of New York (FASNY) Museum of Firefighting who went above and beyond to incorporate wildfire prevention programming and educate the next generation of firefighters and wildfire prevention professionals. She developed partnerships with the New York Department of Environmental Conservation Rangers and Scouting America to ensure information is accurate and creatively engage youth visitors. Kathy even became a certified Wildland Firefighter Type II and conducted prescribed burns!

North Dakota Department of Emergency Services

The small but mighty team at North Dakota Department of Emergency Services has had a profound impact on wildfire prevention in the state. The team’s creative products are visually appealing, engaging, and effective—like their “Learn Before You Burn” tagline. Staff members consistently take initiative to address fire prevention issues as they arise and go above and beyond to become the best possible storytellers of wildfire prevention messaging.

Washington Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Wildland Fire Management and Communications Staff

The Wildland Fire Management and Communications staff at Washington DNR helped rebuild and improve the state’s wildfire prevention programming. The staff creatively increased public awareness of Smokey by developing trailer wraps and license plates featuring Smokey Bear, essentially creating mobile public displays. Many staff members enthusiastically took on roles outside their typical responsibilities, motivated by the innovative opportunities ahead and their passion for wildfire prevention.

Certificate

Certificates are awarded to recognize local achievements and the potential to earn a Smokey Bear Award in the future.

Chief John Benson

Chief Benson is a valuable community leader and educator for wildfire prevention and mitigation in Boulder Mountain Fire Protection District in Colorado. His efforts have significantly expanded outreach in the area and engaged new audiences. Perhaps most importantly, Chief Benson inspired community members to practice wildfire prevention on a daily basis. The committee looks forward to seeing these efforts grow over the years.

Submit a nomination or apply to the Smokey Bear Awards

For the latest nomination criteria and application form, please visit: https://www.stateforesters.org/smokey-bear/. Submissions typically open late spring.