Prineville BLM worker receives Valor Award

On behalf of the Bureau of Land Management, BLM Deputy Director Linda Lance today presented awards to agency employees and teams for their exceptional service to the nation as public servants.

“Each of these employees has made a genuine difference to our nation through their dedication and hard work for the BLM,” said Lance of the awards conferred at the 70th Honor Awards Convocation of the Department of the Interior at its headquarters in Washington, D.C. “All of us at the BLM are proud of the enormous contributions that these employees have made to their communities to benefit the public lands,” Lance said.

Distinguished Service Awards went to:
Nancy Dean, whose leadership has led to the enhanced safety of abandoned mines and promoted a better understanding of the importance of air quality in the agency’s work.
Glenn Harris, who, because of his extensive background in geomorphology, was able to modernize best management practices in road construction and erosion control. Harris is still a volunteer for the BLM’s Ridgecrest, Calif., Field Office.
Joanie Losacco, who was a leader in implementing presidential designations of five Arizona units as part of the BLM’s National Landscape Conservation System (NLCS) and her contributions to NLCS 10th anniversary events.
Kit Muller, who, as a strategic planner, has guided the BLM’s efforts to systematically understand and address the effects of climate change, wildfire, invasive species, industrial development, and urban growth on landscape management.
Michael Nedd, who has advanced the BLM’s multiple-use and sustained yield mission through his work as Deputy Assistant Director for Information Resource Management, State Director of the agency’s Eastern States Office, and Assistant Director for Minerals and Realty Management.

Valor Awards were presented to:
Firefighters Jonathan Brewer and Tyler Webb of the Royal Gorge Field Office in Colorado, whose quick thinking and action during the 1,800-acre Wetmore Fire averted tragedy for five adults and one child near Canon City, Colo.
Justin Hanley of the Miles City Field Office in Montana, whose intervention saved two sisters, ages 10 and 14, who had been swept into the Yellowstone River and were quickly moving downstream.
Patrick Kollodge of the Prineville, Ore., Field Office, who rescued two individuals whose boat was stranded on a rock in Oregon’s Lower Deschutes Wild and Scenic River, and without whose help might have succumbed to hypothermia.
Fire crew members Eric Killoy, Camas Beames, Mackenzie Tiegs, and Dylan Forrester of the Twin Falls Fire and Aviation Office, who, while responding to the Cottonwood Fire last June near Twin Falls, Idaho, raced to the scene of a nearby helicopter crash, where they attended to the injured and stayed until medical help arrived. All of the crash victims survived.
The Safety and Health Award of Excellence went to:
The 4×4 Development Team, which focuses on ensuring that employees have the best information available to safely operate 4×4 vehicles under all conditions. Team members consisted of Thomas Bryant, Kathy Greer, William Bush, Wendy Warren, Arthur Ferraro, Earl Russell, Jon Young, Michael Pearson, and Curtis Smith. Accepting the award at the ceremony were Warren of the Miles City, Mont., Field Office; Greer in the Washington, D.C., Office; Mr. Bryant of the National Training Center in Phoenix, and Bush, also of the Miles City Field Office.