William Prindle Alexander (1881-1956) received the Pugsley Bronze Medal for distinguished work as a pioneer of outddor eduaction in state parks. He was born at Johnstown, New York in February 1881. Johnstown lies in the foothills of the Adirondocks near the beautiful Sacandaga Park. The Indian lore of the Johnstown region appealed to him and he made a thorough study of plants they used for food and medicines. In 1900, he went abroad and for five years he lived in the famous old city of Leipzig. He studied under Prof. Julius Klingel of the Leipzig Conservatory and Max Wunche. After returning, he became greatly interested in reptiles and flowering plants. In 1915, he joined the faculty of Cornell University where he taught apiculture and assisted Prof. Anna Botsford Comstock. In 1920, he went to the Buffalo Society of Natural Sciences to take charge of the society's extension work.
Alexander lectured for number of years in the Buffalo schools as well as to school children who were daily brought to Museum. The most widely known and appreciated of his endeavors were the summer field trips he organized at Alleghany State Park. He constructed the Alleghany State Park, which was the first of its kind in the country. The park at that time a real wilderness. He was a co-author of seven books and wrote numerous articles for magazines and newspapers on various phases of natural history. Upon retirement he was named curator emeritus of education and he was a Hayes professor of natural sciences at Cornell University. Tha Nature Sanctuary Society of Western New York named its tract of land in Zoar Valley William Prindle Alexander Preserve in his honour.