Michael S. Flannery receives Theodore Roosevelt Hillsborough Forever Conservation Award for his environmental preservation achievements
The Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners presented the 2025 Theodore Roosevelt Hillsborough Forever Conservation Award to Michael S. Flannery during its April 17 meeting. The annual award, established in 2017, recognizes individuals or groups for their dedication to preserving Hillsborough County's natural resources.
Flannery thanked the Board for the recognition, showed great appreciation to the Sierra Club - Tampa Bay for nominating him for the award. He said that the partnership between the two organizations has been vital to the county's natural resources.
"We, as a group, greatly appreciate how county staff and elected officials consider input from groups such as ours as we are very close to many environmental issues the county faces," he said. "The County's Conservation & Environmental Lands Management Department provides excellent management of many beautiful natural places in the county that our citizens can enjoy."
An expert in the fields of ecology, hydrology, and management of water resources, with special expertise in rivers, estuaries, and their contributing watersheds. Flannery's career has spanned 35 years, including over 29 years at the Southwest Florida Water Management District. As chief environmental scientist, Flannery conducted extensive ecological research on the region's rivers and was instrumental in developing the percent-of-flow method for establishing minimum flow regulations for streams and rivers. Since his retirement in 2014, he has served as a member of the water management district's Environmental Advisory Committee. The numerous technical reports he has authored and biological data he has collected have been immensely valuable in the protection of the Lower Hillsborough River, Morris Bridge Sink, Sulphur Springs, and the Little Manatee River.
The Theodore Roosevelt Hillsborough Forever Conservation Award is named in honor of the 26th president of the United States. Known as the nation's first conservationist president, Theodore Roosevelt placed more than 200 million acres under public protection and doubled the number of sites in the National Park System.
The Board also presented a commendation honoring Tampa General Hospital and proclamation declaring April 2025 Donate Life Month.
Interested in all the details about the latest BOCC meeting? Here is a full recap.
Subscribe to Commission Connection for more Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners news.