a long-time member of both the president's conservation council of the nature conservancy and the national development council of the nature conservancy, johnson and his company partnered with the conservancy to create a reserve in the caatinga region of northeastern brazil, which he dedicated to the memory of his father. johnson's reserve, the largest private caatinga reserve in brazil, protects 173 species of birds, 40 species of mammals, and 140 species of plants. for his work, the ceará (brazil) legislative assembly named johnson an honorary citizen of the state of ceará in 2000. the following year, the wisconsin chapter of the nature conservancy elected johnson honorary trustee.