The Bureau of Land Management’s Division of Rangeland Resources and the Society for Range Management annually recognize employees in the field with BLM Rangeland Specialist Recognition Awards. They present these awards to promising individuals who deserve an outstanding professional development opportunity or those who have provided exemplary service through their local on-the-ground achievements. BLM seeks nominations from each state office of employees who meet the criteria for recognition of service. This may include work accomplishments, work ethics, communication skills and professionalism on the job.  

BLM honored this year’s recipients, listed here in alphabetical order, during the SRM 61st Annual Meeting and Trade Show in Louisville, Ky. Robert Bolton, BLM’s senior rangeland management specialist, presented the awards.

Award Recipients:

Adam Carr, Lewistown Field Office, Montana    

Carr is very deserving of this recognition because of his outstanding performance this past year. Of particular note is the excellent work he did on some complex, controversial actions involving grazing transfers. Carr worked closely with a number of permittees to ensure proper recovery of the lands that the 2006 wildfires burned. He also did an exemplary job in providing primary supervision to our cadre of seasonal range technicians in their collection of rangeland-health data.  As with this work, and all of the numerous other tasks and projects with which he was involved, Carr always provided high-quality work products. He developed these products through outstanding coordination and communication with his publics, both internal and external.                           
Mike Courtney, Burley Field Office, Idaho

In a limited timeframe, Courtney has rebuilt the Burley Field Office range program in an effort to meet the 2009 permit-renewal deadlines. By restructuring range-staff workload and involving other disciplines in permit renewals, he has achieved across-the-board understanding of the complexity, workload and commitment necessary to succeed. Courtney aggressively recruited for assistance from outside the Burley Field Office, leading to stronger relationships and completion of an extraordinary amount of fieldwork. His communication skills, calm demeanor, and dedication have ensured the office maintained community relationships, exceeded goals and had consistent leadership during a period of acting field managers.

W. Paul Curtis, Monticello Field Office, Utah

Curtis has been a valuable member of the Monticello Field Office staff since 1981, when he began his service as a rangeland management specialist. During that time his rangeland-management work has spanned the gamut. He has worked on Soil Vegetation Inventory Method inventories, grazing compliance, allotment management-plan development, range-improvement planning/construction, rangeland monitoring, rangeland-health assessment, grazing-permit renewals and litigation. Curtis is professional in his work and has the respect of his coworkers, agency partners and the grazing permittees with whom he works. He always promotes proper range management and enlists support and cooperation from grazing permittees in implementing sound rangeland-management practices. Curtis also has been involved with SRM for many years and has always been willing to serve on various committees and as a state council member. He most recently served as the president of the Utah Section. His professionalism, service and dedication as noted above are certainly deserving of this recognition.

Charlie Fifield, Casper Field Office, Wyoming  

Fifield has been a BLM employee for more than 25 years and possesses all the very best qualities of a rangeland-management professional: He has technical expertise, promotes range science, builds partnerships with the public and mentors future rangeland-management specialists. In addition, other rangeland-management professionals widely recognize Fifield for his expertise in vegetation monitoring. Through hard work, dedication and attention to detail he has collected vegetative-production data for nearly 30 years, greatly improving the understanding of rangelands in Wyoming. In addition to his professional expertise, Fifield has volunteered a significant amount of personal time to promote rangeland health and support SRM.  Fifield has been a member of SRM since 1989. He gives freely of both his professional and personal time to advance the understanding of rangeland management, and projects a very positive image of BLM to its customers.

Thomas R. Grette, Royal Gorge Field Office, Colorado

Grett is a dependable, trusted employee with a rare work ethic who has worked in Canon City as a range management specialist since 1981.  He worked briefly with BLM in Miles City, Mont., and Kanab, Utah, prior to coming to the Royal Gorge Field Office. He has been a member of the Society for Range Management since joining BLM in 1977.  Grette has always been a big-picture thinker. Throughout his career, he has demonstrated his desire to contribute to other programs outside of rangeland-management by his active involvement in many agency initiatives. Over the years he has accomplished dozens of projects that benefit wildlife and range with thousands of dollars of funds from outside contributors. Grette has a knack for developing and maintaining viable working relationships with other agencies, organizations, permittees and coworkers. He has attained the highest respect within his profession from all those who know him. 

Lane R. Hauser, Las Cruces District Office, New Mexico  

Hauser has been a range management specialist 11 years. His started his career as a co-op student with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service. By 1997 he was a full-time rangeland-management specialist in Deming, N.M. In 1999 Hauser came to the BLM Las Cruces District and has been in that office for eight years. For his entire career he has been dedicated to natural resources. He has developed excellent working relationships with permittees; BLM colleagues; other federal, state and county agencies; and cooperators. In all of his professional activities, Hauser has demonstrated an outstanding work ethic and has gained the respect of all who have worked with him. During this past year Hauser’s accomplishments have far exceeded management’s expectations. His knowledge of other resource objectives has enabled him to work effectively with the BLM staff in all disciplines. Hauser’s leadership in the Las Cruces District’s Restore New Mexico Initiative during 2007 has resulted in a significant positive impact on the landscape to restore watersheds and improve rangeland health.

Byron Lambeth, Hassayampa Field Office, Arizona        

Lambeth has been a valuable member of the Phoenix District staff for several years, having served as a rangeland management specialist in both BLM’s Lower Sonoran and Hassayampa Field Offices. During this time his rangeland-management work has involved a variety of duties. These include grazing compliance, allotment-management-plan development, range-improvement planning/construction, rangeland monitoring, rangeland-health assessment, grazing-permit renewals and litigation. He also served on the interdisciplinary team, developing a new resource-management plan. Lambeth has also contributed many years of service to SRM.  For the past 3 years, he has served as the secretary-treasurer for SRM’s Arizona section and has been active in ensuring successful annual meetings.

Michele McDaniel, Battle Mountain Field Office, Nevada  

McDaniel is currently the supervisory rangeland management specialist for the BLM Mount Lewis Field Office in the Battle Mountain District. She began her employment with BLM in Battle Mountain as a range management specialist in 2002. Since then McDaniel has consistently demonstrated her passion for natural resources, her exceptional work ethic and her ability to resolve difficult land-management issues with permittees and the public. McDaniel has received this award as a result of her past and ongoing work in the field of range management as a BLM employee. Her efforts have promoted and enhanced the stewardship of public rangelands in the Battle Mountain District.

Dana Peterson, Wenatchee Field Office, Washington 

Peterson has been a valuable member of the Wenatchee Field Office staff since he began serving there as a range management specialist in 1984. His rangeland-management work there has included Soil Vegetation Inventory Method inventories, grazing compliance, allotment-management-plan development, range-improvement planning/construction, rangeland monitoring, rangeland-health assessment, and grazing-permit renewals. Peterson has been professional in his work and has the respect of his coworkers, agency partners and the grazing permittees with whom he works. Peterson has contributed many years of service to SRM. He has always been willing to serve on various committees and has been active in the organization for many years. Because of professionalism, service, and dedication, Peterson is most deserving of this recognition.

Jeff Starosta, Bishop Field Office, California 

Starosta has developed a track record of outstanding performance in managing the Bishop Field Office rangeland management program since his assignment to the position in October 2005. He consistently handles an exceptionally large body of rangeland-management-program administrative and field work in an intelligent, efficient and collaborative manner. Starosta has especially exhibited a very personal one-on-one working relationship with the 26 individual livestock permittees. This has developed into a mutual level of trust and understanding that has brought significant benefit to BLM. It has also positively affected the way the local public views the agency.  Starosta consistently demonstrates the highest ethical standards in his work and his interaction with colleagues and the public. His professional demeanor is regularly expressed through his courtesy and willingness to help others in an official and unofficial capacity.

Related Article:

https://www.peoplelandandwater.gov/blm/
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