Knight-Risser Prize for Western Environmental Journalism

The Knight-Risser Prize for Western Environmental Journalism is an annual $5,000 prize that recognizes excellence in reporting on environmental issues and stories in the North American West — from Canada through the United States to Mexico.

By recognizing the highest-quality environmental reporting about the North American West, the Knight-Risser Prize seeks to inspire journalists in all media to bring sophisticated reporting, solid environmental science, and compelling storytelling to the public, in the context of a rapidly evolving journalism landscape.

The Bill Lane Center for the American West co-administers the prize and an annual symposium on environmental watchdog journalism together with the John S. Knight Journalism Fellowships at Stanford University.

The prize was established in 2005 in honor of the investigative journalist James V. Risser, who won two Pulitzer prizes for his reporting on agricultural and environmental issues for the Des Moines Register. In 2010, the organizers secured additional funding from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation to endow the prize in perpetuity.

The prize accepts entries every year in mid-March. After judging by a panel of journalists and scientists, the winner is announced in the summer.