 The award was established “to honor individuals who have made exceptional lifetime contributions to the cause of conservation”, according to the National Wildlife Federation.Previous recipients of the award include President Jimmy Carter, oceanographer Sylvia Earle and U.S. Sen. John Chafee.Bell also received the Greater Yellowstone Coalition's Sargent Award for Lifetime Achievement in Conservation in 2007, and the Wyoming Citizen of the Century from the University of Wyoming's American Heritage Center in 2000

The Wyoming Outdoor Council's early work in the late 1960s and early 1970s included public opposition to two major plans — one was to dam the Upper Green River near Pinedale, and the other to clear-cut large sections of the Bridger-Teton National Forest and Shoshone National Forest near Dubois.