Press Release
The Manti-La Sal National Forest announced on Thursday that members of the Bears Ears Interdisciplinary Team were awarded a 2022 Secretary’s Honor Award for their work in Expanding Opportunities for Economic Development and Improving the Quality of Life in Rural and Tribal Communities.
This interdisciplinary team was instrumental in completing the first-of-its-kind Forest Service co-stewardship agreement with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the five tribes of the Bears Ears Commission, including Hopi Tribe, Navajo Nation, Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah and Ouray Reservation, and the Pueblo of Zuni.
This award is a direct reflection of the team’s hard work, dedication, and their efforts to make the Forest Service and our Nation a better place. Congratulations to Bears Ears Interdisciplinary Team members:
Kathryn Conant (Director of Lands and Minerals, Intermountain Regional Office)
Ryan Nehl (Manti-La Sal Forest Supervisor)
Michael Engelhart (District Ranger, Moab and Monticello Ranger Districts)
Brian Murdock (Recreation Program Lead)
Jacob Palma (Bureau of Land Management)
Patrick Redmond (Office of General Counsel, Washington, D.C.)
“The efforts of the Mani-La Sal National Forest’s Bears Ears Interdisciplinary Team have served to protect and preserve Bears Ears National Monument for many years to come and this new way of doing business represents a model for other agencies to follow in enhanced tribal relations,” stated Ryan Nehl, Forest Supervisor.
For more information on the Manti-La Sal National Forest, visit our website at www.fs.usda.gov/mantilasal, follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/mantilasalnationalforest and on Twitter at https://twitter.com/ml_nf