BLM Director Announces Winners of 2006 Rangeland Stewardship
Award
Calling public lands ranchers “effective stewards of the public
lands,” Bureau of Land Management Director Kathleen Clarke today
presented the BLM’s first annual Rangeland Stewardship Award to two
Idaho public lands ranchers and an Idaho grazing association that have
improved rangeland conditions in the state’s Shoshone Basin. The award
was presented in Reno, Nevada, at a meeting of the rancher-based Public
Lands Council.
The BLM’s award recognizes the rangeland stewardship work of Jim
Baker of Filer, Charles Thompson of Twin Falls, and the Pleasant Valley
Grazing Association, which is represented by Rob Rogerson of Eden. The
award recipients hold BLM grazing permits in connection with their
cattle operations in the Shoshone Basin, where their work has enhanced
streamside conditions and improved sage-grouse habitat.
“The BLM is delighted to make its first-ever presentation of this
Rangeland Stewardship Award,” Director Clarke said. “These award
recipients – Jim Baker, Charles Thompson, and Rob Rogerson – have made
significant investments of their time and money to make a difference on
Idaho public rangelands, improving streamside conditions and enhancing
habitat for wildlife. Their efforts, which include grazing management
changes and range improvement projects, have gone above and beyond our
agency’s expectations. The awardees, who are helping the BLM meet its
conservation goals, are outstanding examples of how ranchers serve as
good stewards of the public lands.”
The three awardees, nominated by Twin Falls District Manager Howard
Hedrick, were selected by Director Clarke after a review by a
seven-member committee that examined nominations from BLM field managers
throughout the West. The selection committee included rancher Olin Simms
of McFadden, Wyoming, representing the National Association of
Conservation Districts; Bob Budd of Lander, Wyoming, representing The
Wildlife Society; Deen Boe of Crimora, Virginia, representing the
Society for Range Management; and Maggie Beal of Washington, D.C.,
representing the rancher-based Public Lands Council. The selection
committee also included three BLM employees from the Washington, D.C.,
office: botanist Carol Spurrier, senior rangeland management specialist
Robert Bolton, and rangeland management specialist Doug Powell.
The BLM, an agency of the U.S. Interior Department, manages more land
– 261 million surface acres – than any other Federal agency. Most of
this public land is located in 12 Western states, including Alaska;
livestock grazing is authorized on approximately 160 million acres. The
Bureau, with a budget of about $1.8 billion, also administers 700
million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. The
BLM’s multiple-use mission is to sustain the health and productivity of
the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future
generations. The Bureau accomplishes this by managing such activities as
outdoor recreation, livestock grazing, mineral development, and energy
production, and by conserving natural, historical, cultural, and other
resources on the public lands.