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A national Bureau of Land Management (BLM) panel honored Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado (VOC) with the “Making a Difference” award for their exceptional contributions to conservation and management of public lands.The electing panel had representatives from the BLM, the National Environmental Education Foundation and the National Public Lands Foundation. VOC's executive director, Ann Baker Easley, accepted the award from Secretary of the Interior, Ken Salazar, at a special awards ceremony May 14 in Washington, D.C.The VOC accepted the award along with six other organizations selected from more than 60 nominations submitted by BLM state offices across the country for this prestigious honor. In 2008, VOC provided BLM with more than 4,500 hours of volunteer project time and trained more than 500 volunteer crew leaders.“Volunteers of Colorado provide an invaluable service to the BLM in helping our agency protect and conserve resources on public lands,” said Jack Placchi, BLM Colorado Travel and Access Coordinator. “Getting the public involved with public lands is an important part of the work we do and helps guide our recreation planning and management.”Every year, VOC leads thousands of volunteers in caring for Colorado public lands by planting trees, fixing trails, battling weeds, and improving public places. The VOC provides trained volunteers and crew leaders for BLM projects across the state. Also, BLM Colorado has used VOC to train volunteers and build volunteer capacity in almost all of its field offices.Other award winners include: "Nick's Interns": King's Range National Conservation Area (NCA), CA; The Sea Ranch California Coastal Monument Task Force, The Sea Ranch, CA; Joanne and Don Murray, NV (multiple BLM sites); and Kathy & Bruce Salsbury, Lake Valley Historic Townsite, NM; Willamette Resources and Educational Network (WREN), Eugene, OR; and Cindy Oster, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, UT.