Solís held meetings, forcing the developers to address local concerns, and intensified his efforts when answers were not forthcoming. In October 2007, the developer withdrew its plans.

Solís also calls attention to conservation with the dragster that he races up and down the peninsula. The Baykeepers' logo and pictures of turtles are painted on his Mazda RX7 tricked out with a 454-horsepower Chevy engine. "Racing shows men and boys that conservation is cool," he says. "After the race, the kids come up to the car and we hand out stickers and talk about the turtles. I wouldn't trade that feeling for the world."
–Alex C. Pasquariello

Runner Up: Dener Giovanini
A lifelong environmental advocate designs a citizen-based network to shine a light on the ecological, economic, and social impact of illegal wild animal trafficking in Brazil

Wild animal trafficking is a $20 billion business and the third-largest illegal trade in the world. In Brazil alone, 38 million animals are poached and sent to laboratories or game collectors every year. The trade, backed by organized crime, decimates wildlife populations and perpetuates a cycle of dependency within the country's rural communities: As urbanization destroys traditional hunting and fishing economies, desperate locals are more likely to accept cash to catch animals.

"Biodiversity is the most valuable heritage we can pass on to our children," says Dener Giovanini, founder of Brazil's National Network for Combating Wild Animal Trafficking (RENCTAS). "Threats to our wildlife are threats to our future."

In 1999, when Giovanini was an environmental secretary in Três Rios, a small city in the state of Rio de Janeiro, he founded RENCTAS. Alarmed by the number of incidents involving captured wild animals in the jurisdiction, he decided to educate locals, earn their trust, and offer alternative livelihoods for poachers. In less than a decade, Giovanini's small idea blossomed into a successful model for creating change both locally and nationally; today, RENCTAS's ranks include 600 NGOs and more than 40,000 people.

RENCTAS used the Web to teach communities about animal trafficking and to encourage them to report crimes anonymously. It then passed tips on to the authorities, but Giovanini soon learned that these officials treated trafficked wildlife like any other illegal cargo, so he organized more than 200 volunteer veterinarians to assist officials who seize wildlife. RENCTAS also taught former poachers to manage wildlife refuges so that they could earn a living.

On the national level, Giovanini's efforts recently led the Brazilian government to launch an international education campaign on the environmental risks of wild animal trafficking and to encourage foreign governments to sign anti-trafficking treaties. All of Brazil's diplomatic offices abroad are now participating. While his successes are adding up, Giovanini says that much remains to be done and that he will continue to fight illegal animal trafficking. "This is a battle of uneven forces against the economic power of organized crime," he says. "But it is a battle we will win."
-A.C.P