A prestigious conservation award has been bestowed upon Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Company: the California Leopold Conservation Award, a prize for private landowners who excel in voluntary stewardship and natural resource management. The award is named after ecologist and author Aldo Leopold, who influenced the development of modern environmentalism. The cheese company operates on land that has been in the family since the late 1950’s; it converts all its methane gas in order to power its dairy and cheese-making operations. The award is granted to companies in nine states by the Sand County Foundation and in California is granted in conjunction with the Farm Bureau Federation and San Francisco-based Sustainable Conservation. The award, which comes with $10,000, is primarily meant to put a spotlight on sustainable practices undertaken voluntarily and “[inspire] countless other landowners by example.”