Alton C. Byers is MRD's Regional Editor for North America. The following notice is adapted from a TMI press release posted on the Mountain Forum discussion list on 21 February 2006. –Ed.

Dr. Alton C. Byers, Director of Research and Education at The Mountain Institute, received the prestigious David Brower Conservation Award from The American Alpine Club at its annual meeting in Attatash, New Hampshire on 10 February 2006. The award was created in 1991 to emphasize The American Alpine Club's commitment to preserving mountain regions worldwide, and is given annually to a person who has made important contributions to the protection of mountain environments and whose active personal role deserves public recognition.

David Brower (1912–2000) was an active alpinist and member of the famed 10th Mountain Division with over 70 first ascents of mountains in the American west, and was twice nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for his work in conservation.

Byers is a mountain geographer who has worked for more than 30 years to protect mountain ecosystems and improve the livelihoods of mountain people in the US, China, Nepal, India, Mongolia, Africa, South America, and the Caribbean. His current interests include the conservation of the world's alpine ecosystems, impacts of climate change and glacier recession on people's lives and livelihoods in high mountain regions, and co-editing a new mountain geography textbook.

Speaking on Byers' work in the Everest region of Nepal, Peter Ackroyd, Chairman of The American Alpine Club's International Conservation Committee, said: “From my involvement with Alton on the Mount Everest Alpine Conservation and Restoration project I can say that he is passionately concerned with using his knowledge and skills to protect and restore mountain environments. He also strongly believes that the education, involvement, and commitment of the local population is key for the success of any project, and the Khumbu Alpine Conservation Council [a 23-member managing council of local Sherpa people established in 2003] is a testament to his ability to inspire a community to take control.”

The Mountain Institute is an international conservation and community development organization headquartered in Washington, DC with offices in Elkins, West Virginia; Nepal; China; and Peru.