Employees Receive Prestigious Smokey Bear Award
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USDA Forest Service Pacific Northwest Region
Bureau of Land Management Oregon/Washington
PORTLAND, Ore. – Two Pacific Northwest employees of the Bureau of Land Management and USDA Forest Service recently received Silver Smokey Bear awards for their outstanding regional wildland fire prevention efforts. Lauren Maloney of Portland and Karen Curtiss of Bend received the awards due in part to their leadership in fire prevention leading up to the Aug. 21, 2017, Total Solar Eclipse.
The pair spearheaded an unprecedented, multi-state fire prevention campaign prior to the eclipse that included coordinating multiple fire prevention teams as well as sharing products and graphics. The combined efforts resulted in no known human-caused fires of any significance during the days surrounding the eclipse, despite hundreds of thousands of visitors to Oregon.
Maloney and Curtiss also built a database of fire education materials, including Spanish translations, that is used across several states. They piloted efforts to create virtual trainings for fire prevention education team members, and have together worked to expand the use of national Fire Prevention and Education Teams.
“Lauren and Karen’s interagency cooperation is an example for all agencies on how two hardworking, dedicated people can make a huge contribution to public safety and the national fire prevention community,” said USFS Pacific Northwest Regional Forester Jim Peña during the awards presentation.
Peña and BLM State Director Jamie Connell awarded the Silver Smokey statues and pins to Maloney and Curtiss during regional spring Fire and Aviation Leadership Team meetings in Pasco, Wash., on May 15. Both employees are Service First, supporting both USFS and BLM, with Maloney serving as fire mitigation and prevention specialist for the state office of the BLM and the Forest Service’s Pacific Northwest region, and Curtiss serving as a fire management specialist for the Central Oregon Fire Management Service (combined Deschutes and Ochoco national forests and Prineville BLM).
The Smokey Bear Awards are the highest national honor one can receive for outstanding work and significant program impact in wildfire prevention. Since 1957, this prestigious award program has recognized organizations and/or individuals for outstanding service of at least two years with significant program impact in wildfire prevention. The USDA Forest Service, the National Association of State Foresters and the Advertising Council sponsor the awards. Three levels are awarded each year: Gold, Silver and Bronze, based on the geographical scope of the nominees’ work. The Silver Smokey awards are given to individuals who have provided sustained outstanding regional (multi-state) service with significant program impact in wildfire prevention over a least two years.
The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land located primarily in 12 western states, including Alaska, on behalf of the American people. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. Our mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of America’s public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations.