The Paul Moler Herpetological Conservation Award

L. Richard “Dick” Franz must have been fond of mountains in his younger years: he graduated from Frostburg State in the Appalachian section of his native Maryland and earned a master’s at University of Montana in the Northern Rockies. The bulk of his career has been on the Atlantic Coastal Plain, first as a high school teacher in the Baltimore area, followed by 35 years in faculty and research positions at Florida Museum of Natural History. During Dick’s museum career, he was also assigned to the 9500+ acre/3800+ hectare Katharine Ordway Preserve-Carl S. Swisher Sanctuary (since renamed Biological Station) for 25 years. His appointment to Department of Wildlife Ecology & Conservation and Graduate School Faculty, University of Florida, for 20 plus years allowed him to serve on 12 doctoral and 23 masters committees. He instructed an array of herpetology, ecology, conservation, and wildlife field techniques courses at UF. In addition, Dick trained museum teaching staff and volunteer docents, and led teacher workshops and natural history programs/tours for the community. He assisted with exhibit development at both the older museum (Dickinson Hall) and the new one (Powell Hall).

Dick retired in 2008. As Emeritus Associate Scientist he continues his research on recent and fossil tortoises and field studies in ecology and paleontology in the Bahamas, Florida, and the Southwestern United States. As a volunteer, he helps design and implement programs and exhibits at Water Works Environmental Education Center in Palatka in Putnam County.

Since his first in 1972, Dick has published about 60 papers, reports, proceedings, or book chapters on various aspects of amphibians and reptiles. Many of his papers have been published in outstanding journals such as the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS USA). His most extensive works are a natural history of Ordway-Swisher, co-edited with John Eisenberg (1995) and _Travels on the St. John River: John Bartram and William Bartam_, co-edited with Thomas Hallock (2017).

Concerned about the decline of _Gopherus polyphemus_, in 1978, Dick cofounded the Gopher Tortoise Council with the late Walter Auffenberg, and served in many roles since. Because of his foresight, the knowledge base for this species has grown immensely, citizens are much more aware of its plight, and its future is probably much brighter. In 2003, GTC created the Auffenberg and Franz Conservation Award “presented to individuals with lifetime accomplishments, and organizations with long-term efforts in conserving gopher tortoises and upland ecosystems” and bestowed the first two awards to the co-founders.

Dick’s interests are diverse. He has undertaken herpetology projects beyond Florida’s borders (40+ publications), herpetological paleontology (12 publications), invertebrates (15 crayfish publications; coedited two volumes of Rare and Endangered Biota of Florida), and biological/geological field work (cave surveys). That being said, the thrust of his career has been the herpetology of Florida and his passion has been manifested though his research, publishing, and teaching. His crowning achievement is the Gopher Tortoise Council and it will be his legacy. For his almost half century of contributions and accomplishments, Dick Franz has earned the 2021 Paul Moler Herpetological Conservation Award.