THE PUBLIC LANDS FOUNDATION presents Jon Griggs with its 2009 Landscape Stewardship Award and this Citation.  The Foundation grants this recognition to honor private citizens and organizations that work to advance and sustain community-based stewardship on landscapes that include, in whole or in part, public lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).

Jon Griggs has been a leader in the development of the Elko District local liaison program.  The liaison program was created in the fall of 1999 after a severe fire season.  The idea was to create a position to bridge the gap between fire managers, incident management teams, and the local community and stakeholders.  In the spring of 2008, the Elko area interagency cooperators were approached with a proposal to make the liaison program more formal and to offer more opportunities for participation by people from the local area.  Jon’s personal commitment and leadership has directly resulted in a more cooperative fire management atmosphere and has ensured that fires are managed with more than just agency objectives and concerns in mind.  He has demonstrated that by working together, agencies and private citizens can work toward a common goal of stewardship of our public and private lands.

Jon has also played a key role in developing partnerships in cooperation with BLM and other agencies to improve habitat for Lahontan cutthroat trout (LCT), a federally listed threatened species.  Since the 1990’s, Jon has been working with BLM to restore significant portions of the Susie and Maggie Creek drainages for LCT.  Over the past 15 years, Jon has worked closely with BLM to develop partnerships with Newmont Mining Corporation, the Nevada Department of Wildlife and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to implement riparian pasture fencing, weed control, prescriptive livestock grazing management and watershed seedings on more than 22 miles of public and private lands along Susie Creek and its tributaries.  Maggie Creek supports one of the few remaining LCT populations with potential for genetic mixing in the Humboldt River system.  Prior to 2005, structures including culverts on county roads and an irrigation diversion on land owned by Maggie Creek Ranch were acting to isolate LCT populations.  These were replaced with structures designed for fish passage with the support and cooperation of local mines, Trout Unlimited and the Maggie Creek Ranch. Throughout this effort, Jon has provided leadership, commitment and support without regard to land ownership patterns.

The Public Lands Foundation is pleased to present Jon Griggs with its 2009 Landscape Stewardship Award and this Citation for invaluable contributions to the stewardship of America’s public landscapes.

September 12, 2009