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2002 Distinguished Alumni Award Recipient

Huey D. Johnson

1956 Bachelor of Arts

Huey D. Johnson is the founder and president of the San Francisco-based Resource Renewal Institute. The institute was incorporated in 1985 and helps advance sustainable development nationwide as well as worldwide through the promotion of "green" plans--long-term, comprehensive strategies aimed at achieving environmental and economic sustainability.

In 2001, the United Nations Environment Programme presented Johnson with the Sasakawa Environment Prize for making outstanding global contributions to the management and protection of the environment. In selecting him for the $200,000 prize, considered by many to be the world's highest environmental award, he was cited as being a catalyst and champion for environmental protection for more than 40 years.

"Being able to do exactly what I wanted to do every morning for 40 years" heads Johnson's list of professional accomplishments. "This has led to career recognition, topped by the U.N. prize," he says, noting that he will use the prize money to further his environmental interests.

He grew up in rural Michigan and received a bachelor of arts degree in biology from WMU in 1956. He subsequently received a master of science degree from Utah State University and joined the sales team of a large chemical company.

One year later, Johnson became the first western regional director for the Nature Conservancy, which seeks to preserve the diversity of life on Earth by protecting land and water resources. Then in the early 1970s, he founded and presided over the Trust for Public Land, which acquires land to save open spaces for America's urban centers. His pioneering policies and land acquisitions helped make these two organizations two of the largest and most effective environmental bodies in the country.

Johnson also served as resources secretary for the state of California from 1978 to 1982. During his tenure, he led the opposition to nuclear power development in the state; launched a comprehensive, integrated plan for managing California's resources; and crafted statewide environmental protection programs and policies that have been internationally emulated.

"I was fortunate to have been in a position in government to fulfill a personal dream of developing and implementing a 100-year plan to manage and improve the state's natural resources," he says. "We tripled salmon stocks, significantly cut water use and saved a tremendous amount of energy. It confirmed my believe that we can manage the environment and restore it."

Widely recognized as a modernizing force in resource management, Johnson has long advocated taking a systematic and global approach to solving environmental and social problems. He contends the need for this approach is even more obvious in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, and encourages the environmental movement to develop a "Global Green Plan" that is as bold and visionary as the Marshall Plan that helped rebuild Europe and heal the wounds of war after World War II.