Series with rural impact win environmental reporting awards including one on dicamba herbicide in Midwest

Several stories and series with rural resonance won in the Society of Environmental Journalists' annual awards for reporting on the environment.

Reporter Johnathan Hettinger and editors Pam Dempsey, Sky Chadde and Brant Houston of the Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting won the Kevin Carmody Award for Outstanding Investigative Reporting in a small market. Their project, "Dicamba on Trial," detailed how the Environmental Protection Agency ignored their own regulations and scientists' recommendations in reauthorizing the herbicide dicamba, even though internal documents showed they were aware of how much damage it did to farmers' fields.

The judges called it "exemplary investigative journalism. The clear-eyed writing provided readers with a masterclass in how to build a story with a foundation of sound research and documentation. The series should not be dismissed as regional reporting. The judges felt this story had relevance to environmental policy and agri-business on a global scale."

Daniel Rothberg of The Nevada Independent won third place in Outstanding Beat Reporting for small markets. His entry, "Water Reporting in the Great Basin," dug into the effects of the drought for farmers, policymakers and corporations in the state.

The judges said, "As a major drought tightens its grip on western North America, where a number of communities are experiencing record heat, Daniel Rothberg's stories about water, policy and rights in arid Nevada are prescient, timely and compelling examples of how writing about local issues can illuminate events of global magnitude. His stories frame an important but potentially dry subject as a gripping narrative told clearly and eloquently."

Sarah Vogelsong of the Virginia Mercury won first place in Outstanding Explanatory Reporting for small markets. Her series, "Virginia's Clean Energy Transition," explored how a new green-energy policy is playing out. The judges said, "In 2020 the Virginia Legislature adopted a set of laws aimed at establishing a carbon-free energy sector by 2050. To answer the question of how, exactly, the state could reach that goal . . .Vogelsong developed an extremely well done, comprehensive series covering the major issues in transitioning Virginia's power grid to a carbon-free system based on renewable energy. How do you balance the need for farmland with the need for open space for solar power generation? How do you establish offshore wind farms without interfering with the livelihood of fishermen? Vogelsong was diligent in having voices from all sectors. The writing style is engaging, making complex subjects easy to follow."