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NEW YORK — “Pat Keesee’s commitment to landscape conservation, native plants and birds was inspirational,” said Ana Paula Tavares, executive director of . "She was a close member of the Լ����Ƶ family and will be missed by us all.”

Born in Nashville, Pat grew up on the banks of the Cumberland River. Her interest in botany and the world of nature expanded throughout the years, as she became a lifelong champion of a landscape-level approach to conservation.

“You can’t preserve specific species without all the land that surrounds them,” said Pat.

Along with her husband, Thomas W. Keesee Jr., Pat volunteered with a number of local conservation organizations in the Westchester, New York area: Tom and Pat joined their local Bedford Լ����Ƶ Society chapter in 1958, and Tom served as Chairman of the Լ����Ƶ Board of Directors from 1979 – 1983. Their son Thomas Keesee III is on the Board of Directors of Լ����Ƶ New York. The contributions of the Keesee family to bird conservation are admirable.

In 2017, Լ����Ƶ New York was proud to honor Pat at the Keesee Luncheon with a special recognition for a lifetime of dedicated work with native plants.

The “Thomas W. Keesee, Jr. Conservation Award” was established in 2001 by Pat and her children, and is presented annually by Լ����Ƶ New York to honor the individual or individuals who have shown remarkable environmental leadership and commitment, particularly in New York State.

Լ����Ƶ New York staff and board look forward to continuing to promote the Keesee legacy of conservation in New York. Pat’s passion lives on with her children, grandchildren and our shared effort to protect birds and the places they need.

About Լ����Ƶ New York

Լ����Ƶ New York, a state program of the Լ����Ƶ, protects birds and the places they need, today and tomorrow, throughout the Americas using science, advocacy, education and on-the-ground conservation. Լ����Ƶ’s state programs, nature centers, chapters and partners have an unparalleled wingspan that reaches millions of people each year to inform, inspire and unite diverse communities in conservation action. Since 1905, Լ����Ƶ’s vision has been a world in which people and wildlife thrive. Լ����Ƶ is a nonprofit conservation organization. Learn more at .

Contact: Sharon Bruce, Communications Manager, Լ����Ƶ New York, sbruce@audubon.org, (518) 869-9731.

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