When Audubon Alaska executive director Stan Senner visits Cordova in the spring to walk the mudflats, he often sees tens of thousands of sandpipers swirling overhead.

"It's a magical experience, made all the more so by the spectacular setting," he says.

And when he walks the Anchorage Coastal Refuge hunting waterfowl in the fall, he feels that same connection to nature.

Like many Alaskans, Senner is both a consumer and an observer of nature's bounty. And he thinks that may have helped him and John Schoen, his Audubon colleague, earn $10,000 apiece -- plus $5,000 to their organization -- for winning the prestigious Conservation Leadership Award from the Wilburforce Foundation of Seattle.

Award winners are selected among the thousands of people working on the environment from New Mexico into Alaska and including Canada. There are no stipulations attached to the award.

"This award truly is for the individual as our way of recognizing outstanding dedication and extraordinary efforts," said Tim Greyhavens, the foundation's executive director.

"I am truly flattered," Senner said. "It's gratifying to be singled out by a foundation that works with so many worthy organizations and individuals in the North American West, and I consider this a validation of our staff and what we are trying to do."

Senner, an ornithologist, developed Alaska's first "WatchList" of vulnerable bird populations, and has long lobbied for conservation at Teshekpuk Lake in the northwest Arctic.

Several environmental groups including Audubon Alaska challenged a Bureau of Land Management lease sale of tracts in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, and the BLM ultimately withdrew some challenged tracts from the lease sale, a victory for conservationists.

Teshekpuk Lake is one of Alaska's largest lakes and prime habitat for migrating waterfowl.

"Teshekpuk Lake has been real important and an example of where Audubon has been able to take the best science, apply it to a conservation problem, and do it in a way that was credible," Senner said.

Before joining Audubon in 1999, Senner was science coordinator for the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council.

Schoen leads Audubon Alaska's science program, working on issues in the western Arctic and Tongass National Forest, a focus for next year. Before joining Audubon in 1997, he was a wildlife biologist with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game for 20 years.

"We were really surprised to receive the award," Schoen said. "It is a privilege to share this as a team with Stan."

With a son in college and another college-bound next year, Senner knows where his check will be spent. But he won't miss fall hunting with his boys next year.

"Most Alaskans appreciate that hunting is just part of being up here," he said. "Occasionally, it will raise an eyebrow. But hunters and conservationists have a lot of common ground, and that's something we try and emphasize. "

Reporter Mike Campbell can be reached at mcampbell@adn.com or 257-4329.