Photo provided to the Times Observer Steve Sorensen of Russell has been recognized with awards by several state, regional and national outdoor writing organizations.

A local outdoor writer has been recognized for his work by state, regional and national organizations.

The Pennsylvania Outdoor Writers Association (POWA), the Mason-Dixon Outdoor Writers Association (MDOWA), and the Professional Outdoor Media Association (POMA) have all presented awards to Steven Sorensen of Russell.

Sorensen won in the categories of newspaper and web writing from the POMA and MDOWA for a piece entitled “The Buck Fawn that Bamboozled America” that centered on Bambi.

“Few people know Walt Disney had nothing to do with creating Bambi,” Sorensen said, “and it was never intended to be a children’s story. Rather, it began in an early 20th century newspaper as a serialized political allegory about Jewish life under German rule, written by an Austrian intellectual. Hitler banned Bambi when he rose to power in Germany.”

He took home two additional first-place awards from POWA for an article entitled “Deer Wars” published in the Summer 2022 issue of Deer & Deer Hunting.

POMA and MDOWA each awarded Sorensen second place for that article. And MDOWA recognized “Leopold, Latham and Alt” as the best article in the Conservation category.

Sorensen said that the Pinnacle Awards are the highest award that POMA gives and that he has not been recognized in that way for a third time in 2023, along with his second recognition for Outstanding Achievement.

“I’m thankful for these great honors,” he explained. “Despite declining interest in the shooting sports and the way contributions from hunters are ignored, the fact remains that hunters are North America’s most important wildlife conservationists. When we strongly defend hunting, we not only keep North America’s wildlife abundant, accessible, and healthy, but we ensure that hunting has a future. I’m also thankful for the newspapers and magazines that publish my work, and for their readers. It’s humbling to know that hunters and non-hunters alike read and value my writing, because they are the reason magazines and newspapers publish it.”