Best Lichen Find of the Year Award

Rules and Explanation

The Best Lichen Find of the Year award, begun in 2025, is chosen by committee to... well, the name is self explanatory. 

The NWL Board of Directors decided in January 2025 that in each year henceforth, Northwest Lichenologists (NWL) will choose an observation posted on the NWL forum as the winner of the Best Lichen Find of the Year (BLFY) Award. The award will be made by a committee appointed by the Board. Observations must be posted on the NWL forum, even if it is a link to a posting on iNaturalist. We recommend also posting the observation on iNaturalist, so it is easy to search for and contributes to range data for the species. To protect potential rare species, please abstain from collecting or sharing geographic coordinates of your lichen on the NWL forum or another public website if you think it's a rare species. Precise location information may be asked for if needed. 

What: ‘Significant’ finds will be preferred. These can include species new to science, rare species (species listed at the Federal, State, and/or Provincial level, NatureServe, IUCN Red List, and species of conservation concern), specimens exhibiting a rare morphology, species growing in unusual habitat or substrate, etc…

Where: Observations must be in the Pacific Northwest of North America: Alaska, British Columbia, Idaho, Montana, northern California, Oregon, Washington, and western Alberta.

When: The winner for the current year must have posted the find on the NWL forum within the past two years. The posting does not need to say it should be considered for the award, since the Forum is the hub for being considered for the award. There must be photo(s), either in the forum or linked elsewhere, e.g. iNaturalist. The winner can be proposed at the annual meeting in January each year and awarded at the NWSA/NWL meeting, which typically happens in spring at a university in the PNW.

How: Photos, location, and substrate are required in the NWL forum post, as well as a short writeup about the discovery for the website & newsletter.

Who: We will give preference to finds by people who are relatively new to lichenology.  ‘Relatively new’ includes individuals who are: self taught, in an introductory course at a college or university, a lichen enthusiast not necessarily trained in botany or lichenology, a visual artist using photography and/or illustrations, an early career professional in lichenology or botany, or a botany technician or contractor. The winner also must not have previously won the Best Lichen Find of the Year Award.

The prize: The prize for winning the BLFY Award is your choice of one of the three monographs currently still in print. Winners should communicate their choice to the NWL Secretary. A pin made from an epoxy-coated real lichen may also be included, as available. Additionally, an announcement of the winner will be made on the website.

Good luck to everyone, and may you find the most interesting of lichens this year!

Past winners

2026 -- 

2025 -- Justin Lange for Acroscyphus sphaerophoroides

The inaugural winner of the newly created Best Lichen Find of the Year Award (BLFY Award) is Justin Lange! 

Congratulations Justin for your exciting find of Acroscyphus sphaerophoroides (mountain crab-eye lichen) on the Olympic Peninsula, posted on the Forum in February 2023, but since removed to protect the locality.