The Conservation Award was established by ARARA in 1991 to recognize significant contributions to the conservation or protection of rock art and renamed in 2022 as the Daniel McCarthy Conservation Award.
Consideration will be given to an individual, group, organization, or agency that has taken a leadership role in significantly contributing to protect or preserve a major rock art site or series of sites from an identified and serious destructive impact, or to cause legislative, educational, administrative, or other action that significantly promotes rock art conservation or protection.
The Conservation Award may be given to an individual for work that was a normal part of his or her employment or professional activities; similarly, it can be made to a group, organization, or agency for work that was a regular part of its operations.
Cooperative and community centered approaches including the involvement of Native Peoples within the nominee’s Conservation endeavors will be highly valued. Recipients of this award need not be ARARA members.
In order to nominate a candidate for the award a letter summarizing the contributions of the proposed recipient must be sent to the ARARA Awards Committee at this email address: araraawards@gmail.com by February 28th, 2026, under the Subject: McCarthy Award_Last Name. Only applications sent through the official email address will be taken into consideration. This letter must be signed by no less than three ARARA members.
The ARARA Conservation Committee will review nominations and choose an awardee.
The recipient of the Daniel McCarthy Conservation Award will receive a $500 award and a certificate at the ARARA conference.
Past recipients include (award not given in years not listed):
1992: Getty Conservation Institute
1993: Bureau of Land Managment Carson City (Nevada) District
1994: Comte Robert Begouen and Family, France
1996: Mila Simoes de Abreu, Portugal
1997: United States Army, Fort Carson Command
1998: Archaeological Society of New Mexico Field School and Ike Eastvold
1999: Evelyn Billo and Robert Mark
2000: Cultural Resource Department of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and Peter J. Pilles, Jr., and the Sedona Ranger District of the Coconino National Forest
2001: Janine McFarland and Stephen Horne of the Heritage Resource Department, Los Padres National Forest
2002: Matthias Strecker and the Sociedad de Investigación del Arte Rupestre de Bolivia (SIARB) (Bolivian Rock Art Research Society)
2003: Barbara Sturgis, Dick Huntington, and Gene Dennis of the Verde Valley Chapter, Arizona Archaeological Society
2005: Katherine Wells
2008: Bay Area Rock Art Research Association (BARARA)
2009: Nine Mile Canyon Coalition, National Trust for Historic Preservation, and Colorado Plateau Archaeological Alliance
2010: Pam and Quentin Baker
2011: Dick Hill of the Bureau of Land Management Idaho Office and Tom Bicek, Director of Celebration Park
2012: City of Ivins, City of Santa Clara, and Bureau of Land Management St. George Office for Santa Clara River Reserve
2014: Mike Bies
2015: Terri Robertson
2016: The New Mexico Wilderness Alliance and The Friends of Organ Mountains Desert Peaks National Monument
2017: Andy Kallinen with Horsethief Lake State Park and the Picture Canyon Core Group, Flagstaff, AZ
2019: Leigh Grench
2020: Janet-Lever Wood and Janine Hernbrode
2021: The Archaeological Conservancy
2022: Archaeology Southwest (William Doelle and Aaron Wright)
2023: Diana and Steve Acerson
2025 Bill Drake and the Friends of Sierra Rock Art
The Conservation Award was established by ARARA in 1991 to recognize significant contributions to the conservation or protection of rock art and renamed in 2022 as the Daniel McCarthy Conservation Award.