WASHINGTON, DC, June 7, 2006 -- In recognition of his outstanding support of the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) conservation system, Paul Brink will receive The 2006 National Landscape Conservation System Leadership Award on June 7th in Washington DC.
The award recognizes passion, dedication, and collaboration for protecting and expanding the lands included in BLM’s Conservation System. Brink will receive the award at a reception celebrating the centennial of the Antiquities Act and America’s National Monuments. The award will be presented by the National Landscape Conservation System Coalition, a group of conservation, historic preservation and recreation interests working to protect and expand BLM’s Conservation System. Conservation leaders, policymakers and past and present BLM and National Park Service staff will attend the event.
“As a newly created network of protected lands, the National Landscape Conservation System is experiencing growing pains, lacking the level of funding and support it needs to fully meet its mandate. Despite these shortcomings, Paul Brink has demonstrated a clear vision of what BLM’s Conservation System can and should become.” said Geary Hund, the program director for California Deserts and Monuments at The Wilderness Society.
“Paul does more than his part to make BLM’s Conservation System a national treasure—he seeks to enhance not only the Wilderness, Monuments and National Conservation Areas in California, but to raise awareness of the System across the west,” said Brink’s coworker, Chris Roholt.
The 26 million acre National Landscape Conservation System was established in 2000 to encompass the most spectacular lands and waters managed by the BLM. The mission of the Conservation System is to conserve, protect and restore our cultural, ecological and scientifically significant landscapes for the benefit of current and future generations.
“Paul has been a leader in helping the BLM expand and embrace its new responsibilities for land conservation,” said Hund.
Brink’s contributions to the National Landscape Conservation System include co-founding Wild Corps, a program which trains interns from the Student Conservation Association to restore off-road vehicle damage in Wilderness areas. To date, more than 1,400 sites have been rehabilitated in 60 Wilderness areas in the California Desert and Wilderness Study Areas in northern California. The group will also be working on exotic species control, trail maintenance and the rehabilitation of springs to benefit wildlife in the King Range National Conservation Area, the Cache Creek Wilderness Study Area and the Black Rock, High Rock National Conservation Area.
Brink played a role in the acquisition of more than 200,000 acres in the California Desert of Wilderness “inholdings” (parcels of land that were privately owned before the public land around them was protected as a designated Wilderness area). Recognizing there were vast numbers of wilderness inholdings in the California Desert Conservation Area, Brink and his coworkers embarked on a program to purchase these lands from willing sellers. The purchases have been made with Land and Water Conservation Funds, substantial contributions from private donors and assistance from the State of California. Paul also helped facilitate the purchase of inholdings in the King Range National Conservation Area and the Beauty Mountains and Cache Creek Wilderness Study Areas.
“It would be easy for a person in his position to become desk bound, but Paul makes a point of getting out and experiencing things first hand,” said Jeff Jarvis, Brink’s long-time colleague. “He develops a clear understanding of the issues and needs of the program, which enables him to make a clear case for funding and to distribute money effectively.”
The 2006 National Landscape Conservation System Leadership Award will be presented in memory of John Neeling, an Oregon BLM employee who died on May 14, 2006. Neeling is remembered for his significant contributions to the Steens Mountain Wilderness and for the high esteem in which he was held by his fellow workers.
