BLM Honors UDAF
BLM Honors UDAF With "Outstanding
Partner" Award
The Department award is for "Outstanding Partner" - the citation is below:
The Milford Flat Fire destroyed the vegetative cover across 36,046 acres of
private, state, Tribal and Bureau of Land Management administered lands,
the largest recorded fire in Utah history. Of the total acres burned,
approximately 28,000 acres were privately owned lands in Millard and Beaver
Counties. The Utah Department of Agriculture and Food, represented by Bill
Hopkin, working within the Utah Partners for Conservation and Development,
assisted in the planning and implementation of the Emergency Stabilization,
Rehabilitation and Restoration (ESR) of the Milford Flat Fire.
Staff at UDAF worked closely with the Natural Resources Conservation Service in land ownership identification, funding various treatment practices, including herbicide applications, and supplying seed and equipment to private land owners. The UDAF was also very effective in coordinating with other important organizations, such as UACD. Commissioner Blackham was instrumental in persuading the Utah State Legislature to provide significant funding to support the ESR effort. The UDAF effort and involvement was unprecedented for a large-scale ESR project such as the Milford Flat Fire.
The individual awards are for "Exceptional Individual" - the citations are below:
Bill Hopkin (Director, UDAF Grazing Improvement Program) was a member of the liaison team and represented the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food admirably. Bill was pleasant to be around and always kept the mood lively with his comments and humor. He helped keep the planning on a logical and reasonable track. Bill excelled in working with ranchers and creating an atmosphere or assurance with them that the project team was doing the best job possible with the time and resources available. Bill's understanding of vegetation treatments and methodologies was invaluable. With several other priorities and activities going on at the same time as Milford Flat, Bill still made himself available to fully participate as a team member. Bill was also an excellent link between the Milford Flat ESR project and the Rancher Assistance initiative. The team would have been incomplete without Bill and his commitment and dedication.
Tom Tippets was an important contact from the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food and Grazing Improvement Program. Tom also participated in the development of the implementation plan to match proposed treatments with site capability and potential and accomplish treatment across all ownerships. He was then able to use that information to work with the private landowners and ranchers to make the Milford Flat project holistic in application across all ownerships. Tom's efforts contributed greatly to the treatments accomplished on approximately 28,000 acres of private land. Tom is also well deserving of recognition for the dedication and support for the Milford Flat ESR project.
Dave Cook worked very closely with Bill Hopkin at the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food in identifying the treatment needs, and specifically the seed, for treatment of private lands for the Milford Flat Fire ESR project. Dave was the "go to" person in meeting the specific needs of the private landowners and ranchers and arranging for equipment and seed to enable the private land treatment to be accomplished. Without his dedicated effort, the private land treatments would not have been accomplished. Dave deserves recognition for his dedication to the Milford Flat ESR project.
Posted August 12, 2008