Rangeland Stewardship Award; DD: 04/10/2008

IM 2008-078
Instruction Memorandum

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20240
http://www.blm.gov

February 28, 2008

In Reply Refer To:
4100 (220) P

EMS TRANSMISSION 03/04/2008
Instruction Memorandum No. 2008-078
Expires: 09/30/2009

To: All Field Office Officials

From: Director

Subject: Rangeland Stewardship Award DD: 04/10/2008

Program Area: Rangeland Management (1020) Program.

Purpose/Background: The presentation of Rangeland Stewardship awards will allow the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to recognize the accomplishments of permittees/lessees and other partners involved with public rangeland management that have demonstrated good public land stewardship through: 1) maintenance or improvement in rangeland conditions, 2) the use of beneficial management practices, and 3) efforts to collaborate and cooperate with other users of public lands. The Rangeland Stewardship award program is an important component of BLM’s overall goal to improve land health.

Policy/Action: Nominations for this award will be made by BLM Field Office Managers and will be forwarded to the appropriate State Office between March 1 and March 28, 2008. After review, each State Office will forward one nomination in each category to the Washington Office Division of Rangeland Resources by April 10, 2008.

The BLM intends to recognize outstanding partners that contribute to rangeland stewardship. The BLM is designating two categories for nominations:

1. Grazing permittees/lessees
2. Collaborative planning teams (in recognition of overall collaborative efforts)

Further details on the nomination process and standards for judging nominees are contained in the Attachment.

Time Frame: Nominations by Field Office Managers will be sent to their respective State Office between March 1 and March 28, 2008. Each state office will forward one nomination in each category to Robert Bolton or Doug Powell of the Division of Rangeland Resources (WO-220, 201-LS) by April 10, 2008.

Budget Impact: The Washington Office will pay for the plaque that recognizes the recipient of the award as well as any travel expenses incurred by the award winner(s) to attend a meeting to receive the award. There will be labor costs associated with the time involved with the nominations and award selection process. The agency will incur additional costs associated with public notification of the award.

Background: This is the third year that this award has been presented.

Manual/Handbook Sections Affected: None.

Coordination: Awards will be coordinated with the Division of Fish, Wildlife, and Plant Conservation, Division of Recreation and Visitor Services, Division of Public Affairs and Division of Budget.

Contact: Any questions pertaining to this award program should be directed to Bob Bolton, Senior Rangeland Management Specialist at (202) 452-7792, or Doug Powell, Rangeland Management Specialist at (202) 785-6573.

Signed by: Authenticated by:
Henri R. Bisson Robert M. Williams
Deputy Director Division of IRM Governance,WO-560

1 Attachment
1- Nomination Process (2 pp)