BLM Announces Recipients of 2016 Rangeland Stewardship Awards

Boise, Idaho -- The Bureau of Land Management today announced its Rangeland Stewardship Awards for 2016, given in recognition of the recipients’ dedication to the health and productivity of public rangelands under BLM management.  “These awards honor excellence in management practices that benefit America’s public rangelands,” said BLM Deputy Director Steve Ellis in a statement issued from Washington, D.C. “Today the BLM proudly commends these public land stewards for their commitment to protecting rangeland resources for current and future generations.”  The presentation of the four awards took place at the annual fall meeting of the rancher-based Public Lands Council. The awards were presented by Joe Tague, Chief of the BLM’s Division for Forest, Rangeland, Riparian, and Plant Conservation. The Rangeland Stewardship-Permittee Award went to the Mori Ranch in Tuscarora, Nevada, a family-owned operation with a BLM grazing permit that has demonstrated excellence in promoting native plant communities on the Mori allotment. The ranch’s management, using a deferred rotation grazing system, has maintained perennial grass and shrub vegetation communities, minimizing cheatgrass invasion and production throughout the allotment, even in areas that have experienced recent fires.