PA Environment Digest Blog: Choose Clean Water Coalition Recognizes Robert Hughes And John Dawes With Lifetime Achievement Awards

Saturday, June 13, 2026

Choose Clean Water Coalition Recognizes Robert Hughes And John Dawes With Lifetime Achievement Awards

The Choose Clean Water Coalition recognized Robert Hughes, Eastern PA Coalition for Abandoned Mine Reclamation and John Dawes, recently retired from Foundation for PA Watersheds, with Lifetime Achievement Awards at their 2026 conference in Lancaster.

Here is an appreciate posted by EPCAMR--

Bobby and John have been two of the Chesapeake Bay’s most strongest and leading advocates for funding, education, outreach, awareness, and advocacy for the restoration and cleanup of the Bay for decades.

They will tell you they can’t do what they do without the support and expertise of their talented Staff and Board who have helped with a lot of the behind the scenes work on the ground and on the computers when it comes to gathering the data and science needed to make their case.

They both sit on the Chesapeake Bay’s Stakeholders’ Advisory Committee, appointed by the Governor, and Bobby is a member of the Steering Committee for the Choose Clean Water Coalition for nearly the last two years, and a member of the Coalition, which are 350 organizations strong across the watershed, since its inception.

They have provided and continue to provide valuable information, input, and suggestions to the Stakeholders’ Advisory Committee on a number of watershed issues, including AMD impacts and solutions that will be addressed in the revised Chesapeake Bay Management Plan.

Bobby said during his speech upon receiving the award that John has been a mentor and trusted colleague and advisor for his entire career.

He’s supported our efforts through the Foundation for PA Watersheds, who continue to support us through various grant projects, under the leadership of Deborah Nardone, the new Executive Director.

Kristin Reilly, Executive Director for the Coalition, joked that there isn’t anywhere she goes in the watershed when acid mine drainage issues are brought up and someone will ask her-- “Did you talk to Bobby yet?”

He was born and raised in the coalfields of the North Anthracite region in Wilkes-Barre.

He also gave a heartfelt thought and recognition to another mentor to both John and Louise Dunlap, who helped them navigate Capitol Hill, the legislature, Committee Chairs, and their staff when we visited DC over the years and provided testimony. She passed away a few years ago and was instrumental in the passage of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977.

She taught him the art of creating sound bites during his speeches that would leave lasting impressions and great takeaways when speaking to the House and Senate leadership.

He was sure that she was smiling down on the both of them.

The Choose Clean Water Coalition has harnessed the collective power of more than 320 groups to advocate for clean rivers and streams in all communities in the Chesapeake Bay region.

By coordinating policy, messaging, action, and accountability, the Coalition speaks louder with one voice toward our collective goal—clean water.

(Photo: Robert Hughes (left) and John Dawes.)

Resource Links:

-- Robert Hughes Of EPCAMR Recognized With Susquehanna River Basin Honors [PaEN]

-- PA Assn. Of Environmental Educators Honors 2020 Award Winners (Including Robert Hughes) [PaEN]

-- In Celebration Of The Many Contributions Of John Dawes To Protecting And Restoring PA’s Environment, Foundations Create The R. John Dawes Clean Water Fund [PaEN]

-- In Memoriam: Louise Dunlap A Leading Force Behind Coal Mine Reclamation, Regulation [PaEN]