The W. Kelly Mosley Environmental Awards Program at Auburn University annually recognizes ten to fifteen Alabamians for their contributions to the natural environment in the state. The award frequently recognizes people who put land and waterways to productive uses such as environmentally sensitive timber production, hunting, and fishing.

W. Kelly Mosley was a 1924 graduate of Auburn who was a senior executive for Southern Bell, forerunner of BellSouth, until his retirement in 1963. Following his retirment, Mosley enlisted the advice of Auburn researchers and Alabama Cooperative Extension System specialists as he developed a model forest management system for his farm, Pineland, in Marengo County. Inspired by the success of that effort, he established several programs at Auburn and across Alabama to encourage wise land management practices.

As he met others across Alabama that were successfully combining production and conservation from their timberland to farmland, Mosley noticed that few people received public recognition for their efforts. He enlisted assistance from the Franklin Foundation and AU and ACES faculty to establish the Mosley Environmental Awards in 1979. A select committee presented the first awards the following year.

Each winner receives $500.00, and each recipient and nominator receives a limited edition print of a commemorative wildlife painting. W. C. Baggett, Jr., then an AU art professor, painted the woodland scene in 1983 under commission from Mosley specifically for the awards program. Awards winners are selected by a 12-member committee representing AU faculty and officials from natural resource organizations. Members of the committee present the award to each winner at a special ceremony in the recipient's hometown.