Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument (GSENM)’s Carolyn Shelton was recently honored as the first recipient of the Conservation Lands Alliance’s Jeff Jarvis Conservation Leadership Award for her work promoting science, education and research on the Monument.

The Conservation Lands Alliance is a coalition of 80 conservation, historic preservation, faith-based, recreation, business, education and place-based friends groups supporting the Bureau of Land Management’s National Landscape Conservation System (NLCS), of which GSENM was the first national monument included in the system.  The Jeff Jarvis Conservation Leadership Award is named for Jeff Jarvis, a BLM leader strongly committed to the protection and management of public lands in the NLCS.

As Assistant Monument Manager for Science and Visitor Services, Shelton oversees the science and environmental education programs on the Monument, as well as the operation of four visitor centers located in Big Water, Cannonville, Escalante and Kanab, Utah.

Shelton was recognized by the Alliance for her efforts to secure funding for and ultimately hire a Science Program Administrator; for ensuring visitor center staff are trained to incorporate the knowledge gained from science conducted on the Monument into education programs presented to visitors and local communities; and for promoting the conservation values of the NLCS to her staff, fellow agency leaders, sister agencies and the public.
Grand Staircase Escalante Partners, the Monument’s friends organization and a member of the Alliance, nominated Shelton for the award.

“Carolyn’s winning this award is certainly an honor for her, and we’re very proud of her; but it also speaks to the quality and dedication of all our employees, and to the strong support the Monument receives from our local Partner’s group,” said Monument Manager Rene  Berkhoudt.