The citation for the Explorer’s Medal the Club presented to Lee Talbot at the March 21, 2009 ECAD recognized his “extraordinary contributions to exploration, scientific research and human welfare. A pioneer in developing and applying ecosystem science, he established an ecosystem basis for conservation, incorporated environmental and social considerations into international development, and is an acknowledged leader in shaping national and international environmental policies and principles.” e.g. as an author and negotiator of the Endangered Species Act, Marine Mammal Protection Act, Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, the World Heritage Convention, and many other national and international laws and policies. He was an environmental advisor to presidents Nixon, Ford and Carter, served as Head of Environmental Sciences for the Smithsonian Institution, and as Director-General of the World Conservation Union. He was an officer in the U.S. Marine Corps.

Professor of Environmental Science and Policy at George Mason University and Senior Environmental Advisor to World Bank and U.N. organizations, Lee is an ecologist and geographer with well over 60 years of experience in environmental affairs in 134 countries. Talbot’s research has taken him to uncharted territory around the globe and he has organized or led over 150 exploration and research expeditions on five continents. With his biologist wife, he spent over six years starting in the 1950s conducting pioneering ecosystem research on the Serengeti-Mara Plains of East Africa. They subsequently conducted the Southeast Asia Project of the IUCN as environmental advisors to 11 nations. He has been member of over 20 committees and panels of the National Academy of Sciences, and is author of over 300 publications, including 17 books and monographs. He has received numerous national and international awards and recognitions for scientific accomplishments, environmental achievements, exploration, teaching, popular and scientific writing, and documentary film. These have included the IUCN Coolidge Medal (2016), 2016 Cosmos Club’s Powell Award, 2016 Legacy Award from Defenders of Wildlife, the 2009 Explorers Medal, the 2008 University of California Excellence in Achievement Award, and among many others, awards from the World Commission on Protected Areas, French Academy of Sciences, George Mason University, Institute of Ecosystem Studies, Wildlife Society, Bombay Natural History Society, American Institute of Biological Sciences, and recently, an award “on behalf of the American people” from the U.S. Secretaries of State and Interior.

He has developed and teaches eight graduate courses at Mason. His other activities have included hiker, backpacker, mountain climber, skier, bicycler, pilot, hang glider, scuba diver, and white water rafter. He is a national and international championship racecar driver with professional experience on four continents, and membership in the Road Racing Drivers Club, the worldwide organization of championship level race drivers.

Lee’s scientist wife, Marty (Martha Hayne Talbot FN04) has worked with him in over 60 countries. An Explorers Club Fellow, she is a Lowell Thomas Awardee, former President of the International Society of Women Geographers and recipient of their Outstanding Achievement Award, Co-Founder of the Student Conservation Association, and has received national and international awards and recognition for her scientific and conservation achievements.