Secretary Salazar Presents the Potomac River Gorge Partnership with Partners in Conservation Award

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar today presented a Partners in Conservation Award to two National Park Service employees and two employees of The Nature Conservancy for their conservation efforts in the Washington D.C. area and along the Potomac Gorge.

Scott Bell and Brent Steury of the National Park Service shared the award with Stephanie Flack and Mary Travaglini of The Nature Conservancy. The NPS-TNC partnership has secured and leveraged more than $1.79 million in public and private funds to accomplish their restoration work in the Potomac Gorge. Some of these projects have included restoring habitat for fish and wildlife, assessing the impacts of recreational use, and restoring the Chain Bridge Flats.

They received one of 26 national awards to individuals and organizations presented at a ceremony at Interior headquarters in Washington, D.C. to honor “those who achieve natural resource goals in collaboration and partnership with others.”
The 26 Partners in Conservation Awards recognize conservation achievements resulting from the cooperation and participation of a total of 600 individuals and organizations including landowners; citizens' groups; private sector and nongovernmental organizations; and federal, state, local, and/or tribal governments.

“The Partners in Conservation Awards demonstrate that our greatest conservation legacies often emerge when stakeholders, agencies, and citizens from a wide range of backgrounds come together to address shared challenges,” the Secretary said.

“These awards recognize the dedicated efforts of people from all walks of life, from across our nation– and from across our borders with Canada and Mexico,” Salazar noted. “They celebrate partnerships that conserve and restore our nation's treasured landscapes and watersheds, partnerships that engage Native American communities, and partnerships that engage youth.”