Two federal land managers from Arizona are being honored for their work in promoting conservation, while balancing multiple uses on Bureau of Land Management land. The Wilderness Society is honoring Kathy Pedrick for finalizing a statewide plan for smart development of solar and wind energy projects. Alex Daue of the Wilderness Society said the large projects will change the land forever.
"What Arizona BLM has done is really found the sweet spots where you’re not going to have habitat for endangered species like desert tortoise, and you’re not going to have wilderness quality lands where people are trying to go out and hike and hunt and fish with their families," Daue said.
The manager of Ironwood Forest National Monument, Claire Crow, was also honored by the Wilderness Society for standing up to political pressure and refusing to allow recreational target shooting to be banned there.