Department of the Interior
Cooperative Conservation Award
The Cooperative Conservation Award is a Department of the
Interior Honor Award established to recognize cooperative
conservation achievements that include collaborative activity
among a diverse range of entities that may include Federal,
State, local and tribal governments, private for-profit and
nonprofit institutions, other nongovernmental entities, and
individuals. This award enables the Secretary to acknowledge
in one award the contributions of both Interior and non-Interior
personnel. Overall, this award recognizes outstanding conservation
results that have been produced primarily because of the
engagement and contributions of many partners.
Award Recipients
Great Northern Environmental
Stewardship Area (Montana):
The Great Northern Environmental Stewardship Area partnership,
represented by over 20 public and private organizations,
emerged in response to grizzly bear deaths associated with
rail transportation. The partnership developed a rapid response
protocol, increased the safety of hazardous materials transport,
coordinated a digital mapping effort, and supported the study
of wildlife habitat corridors. These and other collaborative
projects have almost completely eliminated the conflict between
bears and humans in the area.
Hooper Bay Subsistence ATV Trail Project Partnership
(Alaska)
Damage caused by unmanaged all-terrain vehicle (ATV) use
in Hooper Bay, Alaska, spurred members of the Yup’ik
native Alaskan community to initiate the Hooper Bay Alaska
Subsistence ATV Trail Project Partnership. The Partnership
fostered the rebound of the black brant goose and greatly
reduced damage to the landscape through innovative community
education and outreach and the use of groundbreaking ATV
trail-hardening technology.
Mount Rainier Recovery Initiative (Washington)
In November 2006, 18 inches of rain fell on Mount Rainier
National Park in 36 hours, sweeping away roads, trails,
utility lines, and whole campgrounds. Private, nonprofit,
and Federal partners mustered a unified response to the
disaster, recruiting volunteers, staff, and student interns. The
partners raised public awareness and enlisted the help
of the local business community. The partnerships
that arose during the response continue to grow in ways
beneficial to the Park and surrounding community.
Tavita Togia, National Park of
American Samoa, National Park Service (American
Samoa)
Mr. Tavita Togia has shown remarkable initiative, dedication,
and collaborative skill in addressing the threat of invasive
species in American Samoa. A National Park Service
employee and a native Samoan, Mr. Togia has successfully
bridged both administrative and cultural boundaries, motivating
villagers, village councils, and Park employees to combat
the non-native tamaligi tree (Falcataria moluccana). To date,
over 2000 tamaligi trees across more than 1000 acres have
been destroyed.
Mark A. Benedict, The Conservation Fund (posthumous) (West
Virginia)
Dr. Mark A. Benedict made an enduring contribution to the
protection of the nation’s natural resources through
an innovative approach to conservation that was both strategic
and proactive, that was sustainable and balanced economic
growth with the protection of important lands. Through training
courses, workshops and a nationally-acclaimed book entitled Green
Infrastructure: Linking Landscapes and Communities,
Dr. Benedict promoted and fostered the protection and enhancement
of publicly managed lands.
East Bay Wetland and Water Quality
Protection Project (Texas)
The East Bay Protection Working Group, comprised of Federal
and State agencies, nongovernmental organizations, and private
industry, has protected almost 8,000 acres of diverse coastal
habitats along the East Bay from severe erosion and habitat
degradation. The placement of critical erosion control
structures through a highly cost-effective collaborative
effort provides protection for a remote and largely pristine
part of the Galveston Bay system.
Matanuska-Susitna Salmon Habitat Conservation Partnership
(Alaska)
More than 29 partners from State, Federal, Tribal, local,
and nongovernmental organizations formed the Matanuska-Susitna
Salmon Conservation Partnership to address the impacts of
human use and development in the Matanuska-Susitna basin
on salmon habitat. The group has collaborated to successfully
implement multiple habitat restoration projects, including
the Moose Creek fish passage and restoration project restoring
3,450 feet of river channel and providing more than five
miles of improved access for Pacific salmon.
Northern Forest Woodcock Initiative (New England
and New York)
The Northern Forest Woodcock Initiative is represented by
over 25 partners with a pledge to conserve and recover the
American woodcock, which has declined substantially in recent
decades with the loss of young forest and shrubland habitats. Land
ownership in the Northeast is a patchwork of private, State,
and Federal lands and thus private landowners are key partners. The
Initiative employs a multipronged strategy, including the
use of demonstration areas, monitoring, and outreach designed
to raise public awareness. Management is underway on
40 properties totaling over 12,250 acres, including three
National Wildlife Refuges.
Penobscot River Restoration Trust (Maine)
The Penobscot River in Maine once supported millions of native
sea-run fish comprised of nearly a dozen species, but now
these populations are at or near all time lows. The
Penobscot River Restoration Trust is a collaboration of
diverse private, public, and nonprofit entities that, together,
are improving access to nearly 1,000 miles of river for
sea-run fish. The project will remove two dams, construct
a fish bypass at Howland dam, and improve fish passage
at four additional dams, while maintaining hydroelectric
generating capacity. Broad-based community interest
and support is enabling the project to maintain its schedule.
Upper Colorado River Endangered Fish Recovery Program
(Colorado, Utah, Wyoming)
In light of water use conflicts in the Upper Colorado River
Basin, a diverse group of stakeholders initiated a first-of-its-kind
river basin management collaboration. The partnership
focuses on the recovery of four endangered fish species (Colorado
pikeminnow, razorback sucker, humpback chub, and bonytail)
through constructing fish passage projects, fish screens,
and habitat improvements and has become a model for success
in overcoming water-use conflicts.
San Juan River Basin Recovery Implementation
Program (Colorado, New Mexico)
The San Juan River Basin Recovery Implementation Program
protects and recovers endangered fishes in the San Juan River
Basin while enabling water development to proceed. This
broad-based effort brings together tribes, water developers,
environmental organizations, and State and Federal agencies. A
fish passage project and removal of non-native species are
two success stories. Activities of the partnership
have already benefited endangered fish species as well as
many other species in the river basin.
Arizona Bald Eagle Nestwatch Program
Southwestern Bald Eagle Management Committee (Arizona)
The Southwestern Bald Eagle Management Committee was created
in 1984 to address the needs of the bald eagle and its habitat
in Arizona. This unique collaborative partnership of
over 23 entities has proven very successful. In particular,
their Arizona Bald Eagle Nestwatch Program has been instrumental
in directly saving the lives of numerous individual bald
eagles and protecting over 50 breeding and nesting areas
in the State.
Alabama Hills Stewardship Group (California)
The Alabama Hills have been the setting for hundreds of films
and television productions since the 1920s, including classics
like “Gunga Din” and “How the West Was
Won.” The area is also used for recreation
by the public. To address multiple challenges associated
with landscape preservation, tourism and recreation, the
local community formed a strong community-based partnership
known as the Alabama Hills Stewardship Group. The
Group has built a film history museum, developed a trail,
launched an outreach campaign, and encouraged dialogue
among multiple interests.
Animas River Stakeholders Group (Colorado)
Historic mines in Southwestern Colorado’s San Juan
Mountains release toxic metals that degrade the environment
and threaten human health. A diverse coalition formed
the Animas River Stakeholders Group to improve water quality
and support communities through tourism and outdoor recreation. The
Group has raised more than $35 million and has completed
roughly 50 remediation projects in the Animas River Watershed,
resulting in substantial improvements in water quality.
Jupiter Inlet Working Group (Florida)
The Jupiter Inlet Natural Area, in urbanized northern Palm
Beach County, Florida, contains the Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse
and a host of special status species and imperiled habitats.
The Jupiter Inlet Working Group, a partnership of local,
county, and Federal stakeholders, has achieved impressive
conservation outcomes through wetland construction, river
slope stabilization, and habitat improvements for endangered
species. The partnership has successfully involved the
community in management of the area, including providing
interpretive tours of the lighthouse to thousands of visitors
each year.
Milsap Mill Tailings Restoration Partnership (Colorado)
The Milsap Mill Tailings Restoration Partnership has stabilized
about one million cubic yards of mine tailings on private
and public lands within the Milsap Watershed in central
Colorado. For a fraction of the cost of an equivalent
non-collaborative project, this partnership remediated
a long-standing source of damage to streams, streamside
vegetation, and agricultural fields. It also provided
unexpected motivational and personal benefits to Colorado
Department of Corrections inmates who operated heavy machinery
in support of the project.
Restore New Mexico Partnership (New Mexico)
The Restore New Mexico Partnership is a prime example of
home-grown collaborative action and represents a very large
landscape-scale endeavor. Initially consisting of
small unconnected groups with a shared vision, the Partnership
is now a diverse coalition responsible for completing nearly
500,000 acres of brush control on public and private lands,
reestablishing native vegetation on 36 miles of river,
and reclaiming outdated infrastructure, reconnecting more
than 80,000 acres of habitat in southeastern New Mexico.
Willamette River Water Trail Partnership (Oregon)
The Willamette River Water Trail Partnership, consisting
of dozens of entities, has worked collaboratively to protect
the river, support economic activity, and celebrate local
history and culture. Among other projects, in the
last year the Partnership completed the final leg of the
Willamette River Water Trail, which is over 200 miles long. The
Trail is part of a system of paddle trails stretching from
the Canadian border and the mountains of Montana to the
Oregon coast.
University of Alaska Fairbanks
/ Minerals Management Service
Coastal Marine Institute (Alaska)
The Alaska Coastal Marine Institute is a unique collaboration
between University, State, and Federal entities strengthening
research to better inform offshore oil and gas development. Research
topics cover fisheries protection, bio-monitoring, physical
oceanography, and the fate of oil in the marine environment. Ongoing
projects include a fisheries survey on the Chukchi Sea Outer
Continental Shelf in collaboration with a Japanese partnership,
and gathering traditional ecological knowledge from Alaska
natives for a study on bowhead whales.
Lower Colorado River Multi-Species Conservation
Program (California, Nevada, Arizona)
The Lower Colorado River Multi-Species Conservation Program
consists of more than 50 partners striving to conserve 26
at-risk species, of which six are endangered, while providing
assurance that the river will provide water and power into
the future. Four National Wildlife Refuges have made
key contributions towards the goal of creating more than
8,100 acres of habitat through projects aimed at providing
habitat for the California black rail, southwestern willow
flycatcher, yellow-billed cuckoo, and various at-risk fish
species.
South Arkansas Sparta Aquifer Recovery (Arkansas)
In Union County, Arkansas, burgeoning use of the Sparta Aquifer
resulted in water-level declines that threatened both the
residential and industrial water supply. An effective
and expansive partnership involving the water authority,
agencies at all levels of government, industry, educators,
and students initiated water conservation measures and
facilitated conversion from aquifer to surface water by
large industrial users. As a result, Union County
aquifer withdrawals have decreased approximately 7.5 million
gallons daily and water levels have risen in all monitoring
wells.
Upper San Pedro Partnership (Arizona)
Local communities have formed the Upper San Pedro Partnership,
a watershed-based consortium of 21 Federal, State, and
local agencies and nongovernmental organizations, to achieve
sustainable water use while protecting the San Pedro River
ecosystem. The Partnership closed gaps in scientific
knowledge and initiated water use planning and policy-making,
including a ban on zoning density increases within two
miles of the San Pedro River. Measurable decreases
in per capita water use have resulted.
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