Outstanding Public Lands Professional Awards - 2011

Manager/Managerial - Administrative Category

David P. Rosenkrance
Presentation of award (l to r): BLM Director Bob Abbey, Awardee David P. Rosenkrance, and PLF President Henri Bisson.

THROUGHOUT HIS CAREER, and more specifically in the last two years as manager of the Challis Field Office, David P. Rosenkrance has demonstrated a commitment to public lands management, including responding positively to customer concerns, balancing the agency’s mission to appropriately manage natural resources with the desires of various competing interests, and assertively defending the agency’s position in the face of increasing political pressures and lawsuits.  His initiatives have proven effective despite flat-to-declining budgets and increased challenges through litigation.  In the past two years, Dave has responded to many significant emerging issues in a proactive and cooperative manner, often across jurisdictional boundaries.

The monumental task of completing and implementing a field office-wide travel plan has become an outstanding example in Idaho of how to approach a controversial and potentially emotional issue, and it is directly attributable to Dave’s determined leadership.  With very little outside funding, the project was accomplished by a tenacious manager who encouraged his staff with a “Let’s get this done” attitude.  The decision allows for more proactive management of a vast network of roads and trails; lays the foundation for the development of additional trails and recreational opportunities near the towns in Custer County; and provides guidance for travel planning for many years to come.

Dave has led his staff through difficult times and managed to maintain an active on-the-ground resources program.  Dave has reinforced the need to be open and transparent with the NEPA processes.  And, on numerous occasions, he has reiterated publicly that a wide range of public input is needed to meet the needs of NEPA and make good, long-term decisions.

Dave exhibits a proactive approach in the development of the employees.  He has allowed them to take risks, and assume leadership no matter what their grade level, and he has encouraged them to think outside the box, which has resulted in a can-do attitude among his staff.  Several staff members have left the field office for new opportunities throughout the West, in part because Dave’s leadership allowed them to stretch and grow.

Dave possesses an admirable forthright character that “tells it like it is.”  This approach has served him well in interactions with employees, peers, and community members on actions throughout the Challis Field Office.  He has demonstrated an ability to cut to the heart of an issue, look for potential weaknesses, explore various possible solutions, and then talk those solutions through with affected parties.  He is a firm defender of public lands and the interests of the BLM, fostering those same qualities in his staff.

David P. Rosenkrance’s extraordinary performance in a managerial/administrative role has earned him the Public Lands Foundation’s Outstanding Public Land Professional Award in the Managerial/Administrative category for 2011.