Paul Makela
Lifetime Service Award

The Public Lands Foundation grants to Paul Makela its Lifetime Service Award for excellence in public land management. The Foundation provides this award to deserving BLM employees who have perpetuated and enhanced the proud traditions of public service.

Paul began his career with the BLM in 1979 with the Worland District in Wyoming as a GS-04 Range Aid, fresh out of the University of Michigan. Next, he worked with the BLM Kingman Resource Area in Arizona as a biological technician and later as a wildlife biologist. Paul diversified his career by serving on a six-man helitack crew conducting initial attack in Arizona, Utah and Nevada.

Paul took a break from the BLM and served in the US Air Force as a medical laboratory specialist, then returned to graduate school, eventually working as a wildlife biologist in Idaho and Michigan for the Forest Service. In 2004, Paul returned to Idaho where he would spend the next 20 years pursuing his passion for sage-grouse conservation. He was the lead author and editor on the Idaho Sage-Grouse Conservation Plan and served as the wildlife program lead in the Idaho State Office. He later helped spearhead a 10-year research project to study the effects of spring livestock grazing on greater sage-grouse. The results of this effort include several publications and contributed greatly to the management of sage-grouse in its western range.

In the interest of sage-grouse conservation, Paul was one of the original members of the first sage-grouse local working group, contributed to conservation plans, and led development of a model to map habitat management areas. Beyond planning and coordination for sage-grouse, Paul made substantial management implementation contributions. Throughout his career he demonstrated commitment to leadership and teamwork, developing a course at the National Training Center and contributing to policies related to migratory birds, sage-grouse, and big game habitat conservation.

He was honored with the BLM Linda Seibert Career Achievement Award and the Idaho Chapter of The Wildlife Society’s Charles E. Harris Professional Wildlifer Award. Paul concluded his 40-year career of federal service, 35 of which were with BLM, in 2024.

The Public Lands Foundation is honored to recognize Paul Makela with this Lifetime Service Award, presented October 7, 2025, at the PLF’s annual meeting in Boise, Idaho.

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Mary Jo Rugwell, President Oc