FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: MINNEAPOLIS, Feb. 21, 2003 - The Charles A. and Anne Morrow Lindbergh Foundation has selected Jim Fowler, world-renowned naturalist and former host of Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom, and well-known actor and conservationist Harrison Ford to receive its annual honorary Lindbergh Awards. Mr. Fowler will be acknowledged for his lifelong dedication to wildlife preservation and educating the public on the importance of wildlife and wilderness to the quality of human life. Mr. Ford will be honored for his work with the Riverkeepers organization in New York and with Conservation International. Dr. Sally Ride, one of our nation's most beloved educators, scientists, and the first American woman astronaut, will receive the first-ever Anne Morrow Lindbergh Award. She will be recognized for her outstanding achievements and for her unique and tremendously positive ongoing contributions to our world. Their awards will be presented during a special event to be held on Friday evening, May 16, 2003, at the San Diego Aerospace Museum. A live auction is also planned.

The Foundation's visit to San Diego is especially poignant because Lindbergh's plane, the Spirit of St. Louis, was built in an old fish cannery-turned- factory owned by Ryan Airlines, Inc. San Diego is also the place where Anne Morrow Lindbergh became the first licensed woman glider pilot in America in 1931. "The Lindbergh family and the Lindbergh Foundation are delighted to be planning our most important event of the year in San Diego, with the help of local co-chairs George Gildred and Ted Owen," said Foundation President Reeve Lindbergh, youngest child of Charles and Anne Morrow Lindbergh.

The Lindbergh Foundation has presented the annual Lindbergh Award since 1978 to people who have made significant contributions toward the Lindberghs' vision of a balance between the technological advancements they helped pioneer and preservation of the environment they cherished.

Fowler first served with Marlin Perkins as co-host and later host of Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom. He also hosted the Spirit of Adventure program in addition to his numerous appearances at schools and wildlife organizations around the country. Fowler has been the wildlife correspondent for NBC's Today Show since 1988, was a regular on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, and became a wildlife expert on Discovery Communication's network, Animal Planet in 1997. Mr. Fowler believes "the continued existence of wildlife and wilderness is important to the quality of life of humans. The challenge of the future is that we realize we are very much a part of the earth's ecosystem, and must learn to respect and live according to the basic biological laws of nature." His views are markedly similar to those held by Anne Morrow Lindbergh who wrote that society must "balance power over life with reverence for life," and with Charles Lindbergh's beliefs that we must "discern nature's essential wisdom and combine it with our scientific knowledge."

A graduate of Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana with degrees in zoology and geology, Fowler is internationally recognized as an authority on predatory birds, and pursued a graduate degree by conducting the first studies of the world's largest eagle, the Harpy, in the Amazon. He later tracked the movements of the Andean Condor in Peru.

Last May, Harrison Ford was honored at the Riverkeepers annual dinner in New York in recognition of his efforts to monitor pollution in the Hudson River using his helicopter. This type of work clearly exemplifies the Lindberghs' concept of balance as technological advancements are used to address environmental concerns. Ford has also served 10 years on the board of directors of Conservation International (CI). He is currently vice chair of the board and is on its executive committee. As an active member of CI he has participated in the strategic design and growth of that organization, which is dedicated to applying innovations in science, economics, policy and community participation to protect the Earth's richest regions of plant and animal diversity, tropical wilderness areas and key marine ecosystems. Ford also serves on the board of CI's Global Conservation Fund, which has protected over 100,000,000 acres on three continents in the past 18 months. "Like my father, Harrison Ford has made the decision to use his tremendous celebrity so positively on behalf of our planet," said Reeve Lindbergh.

In addition to the Riverkeepers award, Ford received a Global Environmental Citizen Award from Harvard Medical School's Center for Health and the Global Environment in honor of his work to protect the Earth's biodiversity. The African Rainforest Conservancy also honored him for his contributions to the environment. In another show of personal commitment, Ford has donated nearly 400 acres of his Wyoming ranch for a conservation easement to the Jackson Hole Land Trust.

Dr. Sally Ride is widely known in the aerospace/aviation field as the first American woman to enter outer space in 1983. She worked at NASA until 1987 when she accepted a fellowship at Stanford and is currently a physics professor at the University of California in San Diego. During her years at NASA, Ride made a second space flight, and following the Challenger explosion in 1986, she was assigned to help determine what went wrong with the Challenger flight. Ride is now using her tremendous influence in aviation/aerospace arenas for educational purposes, especially in encouraging young women to reach their full potential. The Sally Ride Science Club is designed for girls in grades 5-8 to develop their aptitude for science. Ride has written science books for children, directs an Internet-based NASA education project for middle school students, and she has been inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame.

For reservations and information, please contact the Foundation office at 763/576-1596; in San Diego call 858/277-6359, or you may visit www.lindberghfoundation.org.

The Charles A. and Anne Morrow Lindbergh Foundation is an international 501(c)(3) non-profit organization based in Minnesota, whose mission is to honor the devoted partnership between Charles and Anne Morrow Lindbergh in aviation, writing and their shared commitment to the advancement of scientific knowledge they helped pioneer, while maintaining a long-term respect for the environment they cherished. The Lindbergh Foundation administers three programs: Lindbergh Grants; an annual honorary Lindbergh Award for lifetime achievement, and a variety of educational and motivational programs - all dedicated to the Lindberghs' philosophy of balance between technology and the environment.