Parks and Wildlife Service Ranger, Yuddiy (Ben) Brown has been named International Ranger of the Year by one of the world’s leading conservation organisations.
Presented in the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s International Rangers, the Awards were announced in the Rwandan capital of Kigali, recognising the work of rangers in conservation areas around the world.
Mr Brown (pictured) works as Ranger Lead in the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions’ (DBCA’s) Goldfields region, alongside Parks and Wildlife Service operational staff.
His position includes conducting fire management, track maintenance and protection of cultural sites, including rock hole cleaning to maintain water sources for native animals such as birds, emu, bilby and kangaroo.
Mr Brown is a Traditional Owner from the Martu lands and supports Warnpuru Aboriginal Corporation Rangers in the remote communities of Patjarr and Warburton, more than 900 kilometres from Kalgoorlie.
The nomination cited his dedication to his Parks and Wildlife Service role and helping his people secure native title over Pila Nature Reserve.
Minister for the Environment, Reece Whitby congratulated Mr Brown on his achievement, saying he had a remarkable personal story.
“It’s believed he is the last baby born in the desert to parents living a traditional subsistence lifestyle, surviving entirely off the land as his people had done for thousands of years,” Mr Whitby said.
“The extraordinary film of Yuddiy’s family emerging from the desert to meet a State Government expedition during the drought in 1976 is a historic moment,” he said.
