On Feb. 25, 2008, the Bureau of Land Management recognized Arizona’s Empire Ranch Foundation with the 2008 “Public Lands Partnership Excellence” Award. The biannual BLM award acknowledges outstanding partnership efforts in support of BLM' interpretive, environmental education or public-outreach programs. This includes efforts of interpretive associations and friends groups to enhance public understanding, as well as to strengthen BLM’s ability to provide excellent customer service to diverse audiences. BLM recognized this year’s winning organization for its members’ exceptional efforts at the Empire Ranch, a historic property within the Las Cienegas National Conservation Area. Empire Ranch is a unit of BLM’s National Landscape Conservation System. 

Since 1997, the Empire Ranch Foundation, based in Sonoita, Ariz., has worked in cooperation with BLM to protect, restore, and maintain the historical buildings and landscape of the Empire Ranch headquarters as an outstanding Western heritage and education center. The Empire Ranch is an official “Save America’s Treasures” project site. The foundation’s work increases public awareness and appreciation of not only ranching heritage but also responsible management of lands and resources.

Its mission has drawn volunteer members from across social, cultural and economic lines within the ranch vicinity and beyond. These people are dedicated to the ranch as a living symbol of their heritage. They not only contribute their time and passion; they also donate supplies, equipment, and expertise, which are critical to achieving the foundation’s mission.

The foundation has taken the lead in researching the history of the ranch, assessing the condition of its structures, and developing preservation and interpretation plans.  Foundation members have driven the implementation of those plans through hands-on work, grant writing and fundraising for preservation contracts.

Foundation members are BLM’s onsite presence at the ranch, offering services to those seeking interpretation and education, as well as to those craving recreation. Volunteers serve as docents for school and other group tours, produce high-quality visitor publications and maintain an exceptional Webdsite to promote special ranch events and encourage community involvement.

Among the diverse “fund- and friend-raisers” that the foundation sponsors  are the very popular Empire Ranch Roundup each fall and the Annual “Empire 100” Western Art Show and Sale. A hands-on “Legacy Day,” devoted to ranching education for kids, is a popular event each May, as is the weeklong ecology and conservation stewardship camp each summer.

As a BLM member of the interagency “Hands-on-the-Land” network of field classrooms, the foundation has shown exceptional dedication to the pursuit of quality in educational programs and materials. For example, to ensure continual improvement in serving local schools, the foundation conducted a formal teacher evaluation of its “Wild About the Grasslands!” curriculum.

In 2001, the Empire Ranch Foundation and BLM jointly received a historic preservation award from the Tucson-Pima County Historical Commission, which recognized the diverse benefits that have accrued from this outstanding partnership.

Sarah Miller, a member of the Foundation’s Board of Directors, accepted the award, which was presented at a ceremony at the Adams Mark Hotel in Denver, Colo. The award ceremony took place in conjunction with the 30^th-anniversary convention of the Association of Partners for the Public Lands.

For additional information on the Empire Ranch and Empire Ranch Foundation, please visit the Foundation’s Web site at http://www.empireranchfoundation.org. An informative brochure is available for download/printing at http://www.empireranchfoundation.org/PDFdocs/BriefHistory-2003-Website.pdf.

The Association of Partners for the Public Lands is the umbrella organization for the many interpretive associations and friends groups that have formal agreements with federal and state agencies. For more information, including a member directory, please visit the APPL Web site at http://www.appl.org.