Secretary Salazar Presents Glenn R. Harkleroad of BLM Oregon with the Partners in Conservation Award

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar today presented a Partners in Conservation Award to Glenn R. Harkleroad, the Bureau of Land Management's (BLM) Coos Bay District Restoration Coordinator in Oregon. Harkleroad has been responsible for many partnerships such as a recent community-based partnership between the Coos Bay District and the Coquille Indian Tribe for the conservation and harvest of bear grass.

Harkleroad's award 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. “Mr. Harkleroad has illustrated an outstanding commitment to furthering the Department's partnership initiatives, trust responsibilities and conservation goals.”

Mr. Harkleroad serves as a role model for fostering numerous successful public-private partnerships to accomplish on-the-ground restoration and enhancement projects. In addition to his work with the Coquille Indian Tribe to protect and enhance the culturally significant bear grass, he partnered with county government officials and local landowners to find ways to control and eradicate noxious weeds in the region, and developed a collaborative relationship with a watershed council and private landowner to restore nearly five miles of stream on the southern Oregon Coastal plain.

“These 26 awards recognize the dedicated efforts 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.”