Five volunteers, two organizations, and one employee of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) received a prestigious national award for their public service contributions at a ceremony held on May 11, 2005 , at the Department of the Interior in Washington , D.C.

BLM Award Winners with Secretary Norton, from the left: Jeff Landis, Barb Williams, Larry Haight, Willie Stephenitch, Interior Secretary Gale Norton, Gordy Hicks (Socorro OHV Volunteers), Matthew Birnie (Jefferson County Government), and Manuel Guerra.

The volunteer award winners are: Jeff Landis of Arizona; Barbara Williams of California; Larry Haight of Montana; Willie Stephenitch of Nevada; Darrell & Terri Wade of Nevada; Socorro Field Office Off-Highway Vehicle Program Volunteers of New Mexico; Jefferson County Adult & Juvenile Community Justice Program of Oregon; and BLM employee Manuel Guerra of New Mexico.

For detailed profiles of the winners, select this link.

Those honored this year are recognized for activities ranging from native plant restoration to community outreach to off-highway vehicle monitoring and education.   Thousands of BLM volunteers make significant contributions on America ’s 261 million acres of public lands each year, performing numerous functions in every aspect of public land management.  Many of these jobs, such as campground management or trail repair, would simply not get done without volunteer support.  In 2004 alone, for example, BLM volunteers donated more than 1.5 million hours with an estimated value of over $27 million, equivalent to the work of 860 full-time employees.

Each year since 1996, BLM has honored the most exceptional of these volunteers, as well as BLM employees who work with volunteers, through its “Making a Difference” national awards program.  This program supports the President’s call for increased service to America , and is also part of the “Take Pride in America ” initiative.