Rich Casale, who has supported soil and water conservation in Santa Cruz County for more than 30 years, received one of local agriculture's highest awards Wednesday.

The 2008 Al Smith Friend of Agriculture Award was presented at the annual National Agriculture Day Spring Luncheon at the Codiga Center and Museum at the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds. More than 100 people attended.

The theme of the event, sponsored by the Santa Cruz County Farm Bureau and Agri-Culture, was "Agriculture, the Original Green."

Andy Aspacio of Western Farm Service, last year's award winner, listed some of Casale's accomplishments. Casale, who works for the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Resource Conservation Service, played a leadership role in creating a countywide resource conservation district. He also was instrumental in the founding of Earth Team, a volunteer conservation program, and Blue Circle, a forum that brings together local agencies, government and citizens to discuss issues affecting county watersheds.

"His work in the conservation area is exemplary, and I have only mentioned a few of his accomplishments," Aspacio said.

The award is named after the founder of Orchard Supply Hardware, who donated the 3,000-acre Swanton Pacific Ranch on the North Coast to Cal Poly for agricultural study.

As featured speaker, Janet Webb, chief forester of Big Creek Lumber Co., talked about the sustainable timber practices in use at the company started by her father, uncle and grandfather after World War II. The business started with a recognition that small trees left behind after logging in the late 1800s had grown large enough for harvesting, she said. Along with that came the realization that selective logging could be done sustainably.

The business has continued to evolve, she said, in 1996 becoming the first redwood lumber company to be certified green through the Forest Stewardship Council.

"They realized it's important to not only grow trees for the future, but also to do it aesthetically," Webb said.