The Outdoor Writers Association of America (OWAA), the nation’s first organization for professional outdoor communicators, kicks off its 100th anniversary celebration today, April 9, 2026.
Today marks the organization’s 99th birthday and the start of its 100th year.
Founded in Chicago during a 1927 Izaak Walton League meeting, OWAA has spent nearly a century supporting and elevating the work of outdoor journalists, authors, editors, photographers, filmmakers, radio broadcasters, and illustrators. In recent decades, it has welcomed podcasters, bloggers, and digital content creators into its fold.
Today, OWAA is the largest organization of its kind devoted to communicators and supporters who cover outdoor issues, the outdoor lifestyle, and the responsible use of public and private lands.
“We honor those who founded this organization by continuing to elevate integrity, excellence, and passion in the stories that shape how people connect with and conserve the outdoors,” said Colleen Miniuk, OWAA President. “A century of leadership in outdoor communication reflects OWAA’s unwavering commitment to its original vision.”
In OWAA’s original declaration, newspaper journalist and founding OWAA member Morris Ackerman wrote: “We the undersigned, being agreed that an organization of recognized outdoor writers should be formed in America, for the purpose of bettering our profession, to give more stability and standing to the same, and to eliminate untruths from stories of the outdoors, do hereby form the Outdoor Writers Association of America.”
Over the decades, the organization has counted among its members some of the most influential voices in outdoor communications, including Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist Jay N. “Ding” Darling, Olaus Murie of The Wilderness Society, Minnesota canoe wilderness champion Sigurd Olson, outdoor TV personalities Curt Gowdy and Grits Gresham, and fly angler Joan Wulff.
The April 9th kickoff marks the beginning of OWAA’s centennial celebration, which will continue through the end of 2027. The 2026 annual conference in Madison, Wisconsin, will serve as the opening festivities, bringing members and supporters together in one of the Midwest’s most beloved outdoor destinations. During the event, there will be a 1920’s themed event, recreating the menu (as closely as possible) that was signed by OWAA’s founders to launch the organization and display cases featuring historical artifacts from the organization’s long history.
Other highlights include a special “A Century of Support” fundraising campaign to support ongoing programs, emerging communicators, and conservation storytelling; a membership drive to welcome new voices and re-engage past members; and communication initiatives that spotlight defining moments, influential members, and the evolving impact of outdoor media on the public’s understanding of conservation and the outdoors.
For more information about the Outdoor Writers Association of America visit OWAA.org. For more information specific to OWAA’s centennial visit OWAA.org/100th-anniversary.
