THE PUBLIC LANDS FOUNDATION presents the Outdoor Stewardship Institute with a Landscape Stewardship Certificate of Appreciation and Citation.  The Foundation grants this recognition to honor private citizens and organizations who 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).  Candidates for the award include any private citizen or citizen group of the United States who, over the past 1-5 years, has demonstrated sustained outstanding leadership, vision, and purpose in contributing to BLM’s efforts and in motivating other citizens and institutions to work together to more effectively manage whole landscapes, including watersheds, planning or management units, and other land systems upon which people share a common interest.

In his nomination of the Outdoor Stewardship Institute, Jack Placchi, Volunteer Coordinator for the BLM’s Colorado State Office, detailed the contribution of the Outdoor Stewardship Institute.

The OSI is recognized as a highly skilled training and volunteer capacity building asset to the BLM and other land management agencies and organizations.  OSI accomplishments over the last three years include:

• Over 1,000 trained individuals
• 125 OSI instructors
• 4,600 volunteer hours for developing curricula and hosting training programs
• Curricula developed for:

o       Crew Leadership for Trails – 2 days

o       Crew Leadership for Ecological Restoration – 2 days

o       Basic Crew Leadership

o       Land Stewardship Skills Workshops including trails, weed management, and restoration have been conducted

OSI benefits the BLM and other Colorado agencies and organizations by providing trained volunteers for outdoor projects across the state, volunteer leadership to develop and organize new projects, trained OSI crew leaders who oversee new volunteers on a variety of assignments, standardized training practices to reduce duplication and confusion, a clearinghouse for training information, materials and expertise, a reliable pool of trained volunteers for Colorado’s future, and a way to increase statewide volunteer capacity.

The Public Lands Foundation is pleased to present the Outdoor Stewardship Institute with a Certificate of Appreciation for invaluable contributions to the stewardship of America’s public landscapes.

June 28, 2016