Braided River Presents Tom and Sonya Campion With Headwaters Award
Braided River recently celebrated its tenth anniversary and a decade of environmental advocacy by honoring Tom and Sonya Campion with the first Braided River Headwaters Award. The Campions were recognized for their crucial guidance, support, and unparalleled leadership in protecting the last wild places in western North America, and for helping nonprofit organizations like Braided River maximize their impact. Braided River’s origin story is inextricably intertwined with Tom and Sonya Campion and a place in America’s Arctic they hold dear.
IN THE BEGINNING
In March 2003, during a debate in the US Senate about a provision that would open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to development, Senator Barbara Boxer held up a beautiful book on the Senate floor as proof of the vibrant life during all four seasons of the year on the coastal plain of the refuge, refuting comments from Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska who had characterized the land as a frozen wasteland. Senator Stevens said, “People who vote against this today are voting against me, and I will not forget it.” The provision—tacked on to a budget bill—was defeated by a vote of 52 to 48. The book at the center of this controversy was Arctic National Wildlife Refuge: Seasons of Life and Land by a previously unknown photographer Subhankar Banerjee, published by the nonprofit publisher Mountaineers Books in Seattle, Washington.
Senator Boxer also invited members to visit an upcoming exhibit of the photographer’s work based on the book at the Smithsonian Institution. Soon after the vote, the photographer and publisher received notice that the Smithsonian Institution, which depends on Congress for its funding, had decided to move the exhibit from a prominent space near the museum’s rotunda to the basement. The exhibit’s captions were also expunged of natural history quotes from President Jimmy Carter, Peter Matthiessen, David Allen Sibley, and others. Attorneys for the museum insisted that the publisher remove all mentions of the Smithsonian from the book, and requested that the book be recalled from retailers. When pressed by national media about a First Amendment violation by a public institution, the museum denied making any decisions due to political pressure.
The subsequent media outrage launched the book—and the plight of the Arctic Refuge—into the national spotlight. Once the public was made aware of the beauty and richness of this far-away place through the book’s images and stories, protection from short-term exploitation took on greater meaning and urgency.
It was the Alaska Wilderness League, under the leadership of Tom Campion, that got the book onto the Senate floor. And it was through the generosity of Tom and Sonya that Subhankar was able to complete the fieldwork for the book and contributors to the book were able to travel to the refuge to tell first-person stories.
The combination of a beautiful book, a pressing environmental cause, a grassroots group, and two philanthropists sparked the inspiration for what was to become Braided River—a dedicated nonprofit affiliated with the Mountaineers Books organization. Through a three-year capacity building grant from the Campions, what was once a sideline of conservation books became a dedicated standalone 501(c)(3) nonprofit with a name, a brand, a board of directors — and a focus on images and stories that support strategic partnerships and campaigns that have become part of a national conversation on the intrinsic value of wild public lands versus runaway, unsustainable development—controversies that continue to this day.
CATALYTIC CHANGE
Tom and Sonya Campion have a unique approach to philanthropy. Through the Campion Foundation and Campion Advocacy Fund they develop strategies that address and support pressing environmental, social justice, and nonprofit capacity building issues at the highest levels. They believe in what they term “catalytic change.”
Over the years, they have supported the publication of numerous Braided River books as well as museum exhibits based on the books in partnership with the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture in Seattle. In line with their advocacy goals, they also have supported full-length feature films, photographer and author fieldwork, public presentations, media, and exhibits in the Senate Rotunda. The Campions believe in the power of images and stories to bring alive wild places that most people, politicians, public policy decision-makers, and the media might never experience. Through a positive, hopeful message grounded in beauty, the images and stories inspire people both within and on the periphery of the environmental movement to get involved and get vocal.
In all, the Campions have supported the following books and their associated campaigns:
· Arctic National Wildlife Refuge: Seasons of Life and Land by Subhankar Banerjee
· Arctic Wings: Birds of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge by numerous contributors
· The Last Polar Bear: Facing the Truth of a Warming World by Steven Kazlowski
· On Arctic Ground: Tracking Time Through Alaska’s National Petroleum Reserve by Debbie Miller, Dave Shreffler, and others
· To the Arctic by Florian Schulz
· Journey to the Arctic by Florian Schulz and Emil Herrera-Schulz
· The Wild Edge: Freedom to Roam the Pacific Coast by Florian Schulz and numerous contributors
· Owl: A Year in the Lives of North American Owls by Paul Bannick
Eight of the eighteen books published by Braided River were made possible by the Campions. The books and stories have played a role in partnerships with numerous grassroots groups — from the Alaska Wilderness League to the Sierra Club — to keep development at bay for tens of millions of acres of public lands and over one hundred million acres of the Arctic Ocean, while supporting indigenous people dependent on the land.
Thanks to the success of these campaigns, Braided River has been able to attract new photographers, projects, and additional funders, to create books that focus on other regions and threats in western North America — from the Tongass Rainforest and Bristol Bay in Alaska to sage-grouse country in the American West. In short, there would be no Braided River without Tom and Sonya Campion.
A PERSONAL NOTE from HELEN CHERULLO, Executive Director, BRAIDED RIVER
The Campions have become dear friends. I was by their side celebrating when Barack Obama was elected to his first term; and also by their side during the most recent election when our world entered frightening, uncharted terrain. Through their generosity I have spent time in the wilds of Gates of the Arctic and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. These experiences have transformed me from a publisher helping others to find their voice to someone who is driven to amplify that voice to advocate for causes by leveraging books, photographers, and authors in new and impactful ways. They turned me into an activist.
The gift we chose to honor them is a beautiful painting by their friend Maria Coryell-Martin — an accomplished expeditionary artist well known for her work supporting the environment. The painting was made expressly for Tom and Sonya and features aspens against a beautiful winter sky in their beloved Methow Valley.
I hear over and over these days, “I can’t believe we are still fighting to protect this place.” Believe it. Protecting wild places requires constant vigilance. Our collective work has never been more important.
Braided River thanks Tom and Sonya for leading the way.
If you would like to honor Tom and Sonya Campion’s commitment by making a gift in support of Braided River, please visit our website. To learn more about Braided River, our projects, and our partners, please subscribe to our newsletter or contact dgenge@braidedriver.org.
