Secretary Salazar Presents the John W. Keys, III Partnership Training Program with Partners in Conservation Award

05/07/2009
Last edited 09/29/2021

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar today presented a Partners in Conservation Award to the John W. Keys III Partnership Program for cultivating a more efficient working relationship among the Bureau of Reclamation in the Pacific Northwest, the Oregon Water Resource Congress and several Oregon and Idaho irrigation districts. The Keys program fosters a good working relationship communications on an interagency basis with the shared goal of delivering water more efficiently.

It was one of 26 national awards to individuals and organizations presented at a ceremony at Interior headquarters in Washington, D.C. to honor “those who achieve natural resource goals in collaboration and partnership with others.”

The 26 Partners in Conservation Awards recognize conservation achievements resulting from the cooperation and participation of a total of 600 individuals and organizations including landowners; citizens' groups; private sector and nongovernmental organizations; and federal, state, local, and/or tribal governments.

“The Partners in Conservation Awards demonstrate that our greatest conservation legacies often emerge when stakeholders, agencies, and citizens from a wide range of backgrounds come together to address shared challenges,” the Secretary said. “The John W. Keys III Partnership Training Program is a superb example of an interagency partnership. Through the vision and collaborative efforts of the Bureau of Reclamation and its partners, this program breaks down barriers to foster improved working relationships while allowing for more efficient service to the population they serve.”

Spearheaded by Reclamation employee Susan Tholen, within the Pacific Northwest Region in cooperation with Reclamation's Lower Columbia Area Office and the Snake River Area Office and Regional Office and through the encouragement of the late John W. Keys, former Bureau of Reclamation commissioner, the program's objective is to allow for new Reclamation employees and the participating Oregon and Idaho irrigation districts to understand, discuss, and resolve water issues.

“These 26 awards recognize the dedicated efforts of thousands of people from all walks of life, from across our nation– and from across our borders with Canada and Mexico,” Salazar noted. “They celebrate partnerships that conserve and restore our nation's treasured landscapes and watersheds, partnerships that engage Native American communities, and partnerships that engage youth.”

The following groups and individuals share the Partners in Conservation Award:

Bureau of Reclamation
Susan Tholen

Oregon Water Resources Congress
Anita Winkler

  • Press Release
    Desert Canyon with cloudy blue sky.
    07/31/2026

    Reclamation Publishes Final Environmental Impact Statement for Future Colorado River Operations

    The Bureau of Reclamation has released the Final Environmental Impact Statement, which designates a preferred course of action for future management of Lake Powell and Lake Mead. The preferred alternative establishes an adaptive decision framework to be used to develop operating guidelines designed to ensure reliable operations in the Colorado River Basin while maintaining the flexibility to respond to changing conditions over a 10-year period through 2036. The framework also preserves the opportunity for the Basin to continue working towards consensus agreements, and if successful, be incorporated into future operations.

    Read more
  • Press Release
    Hikers at Sacramento Recreational River, California
    06/25/2026

    Interior Releases First-Ever Interagency Recreation Visitation Report and Announces Nationwide…

    The Department of the Interior today announced the release of the Interagency Recreation Visitation Data Report, the first unified compilation of recreation visitation estimates across all federal land and water management agencies, as directed by the EXPLORE Act. The landmark report provides a comprehensive, standardized view of how millions of people experience outdoor recreation across hundreds of millions of acres of federally managed public lands and waters.

    Read more

Was this page helpful?

Please provide a comment