Left to right Heather Sauls, BLM State Director Ruth Welch, Kent Walter, BLM Deputy Director for Programs and Policy Linda Lance, and Paul Daggett. Sauls, Daggett and Ed Hollowed (not pictured) were recently honored with the BLM Director’s Award for Distinguished Service for their work on the White River Field Office Oil and Gas Development RMP Amendment.
Courtesy photo
RBC | Three Meeker-based employees received the Director’s Award for Superior Service on Oct. 20 in Denver. Wildlife biologist Edward Hollowed, planning and environmental coordinator Heather Sauls and mining engineer Paul Daggett were members of the interdisciplinary team that developed the White River Field Office Oil and Gas Development RMP Amendment, which was approved in 2015. The amendment addresses development of the Uinta-Piceance Basin, which is one of five basins in the West that contain the bulk of the federal onshore natural gas resources. “It takes significant time and energy to make sure the BLM engages diverse stakeholders and the public through the planning process,” said Linda Lance, BLM deputy director of programs and policy. “This team collaborated with 13 cooperating agencies, interest groups and the public to develop innovative management solutions that addressed development and mitigation at the landscape scale.” As members of the interdisciplinary team, Hollowed, Sauls and Daggett were challenged to consider not only the importance of this energy reserve for the nation but also potential impacts on spectacular natural resources including 300,000 acres of lands with wilderness characteristics, one of the largest migratory mule deer herds in the country, and visitors’ experiences in Dinosaur National Monument. The approved plan includes a three-tiered approach to lands with wilderness characteristics, adaptive management to address impacts to mule deer populations, a threshold strategy for year-round development to reduce surface disturbance, and the Dinosaur Trail Master Leasing Plan that considers how adjacent development might impact Dinosaur National Monument. (Access Dinosaur National Monument’s website at dinoland.com/)
