By the Nevada Department of Wildlife
CARSON CITY, Nev. — Nevada Department of Wildlife director Ken Mayer has been named a co-recipient of the 2011 Secretary’s Honor Award, the most prestigious award given by the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture (USDA).
Mayer received this honor for his role as a partner on the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Sage-Grouse Initiative Team.
Through this team, the U.S. Department of Agruculture launched an effort to sustain working ranches and conserve Greater sage-grouse populations in the Western United States. The Sage-Grouse Initiative team assisted many hundreds of ranchers in implementing conservation measures to benefit sage-grouse and rangeland habitats.
Last month, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack formally recognized the team “For exemplary leadership in developing and implementing NRCS’s new and exciting Sage-Grouse Initiative, a spatially targeted, landscape scale approach to achieving world-class wildlife conservation through sustainable ranching.”
The program has assisted producers in 11 western states including California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington and Wyoming to simultaneously improve habitat for sage-grouse and improve sustainability and productivity of their native rangelands.
“Nevada has been at the forefront of the effort to protect the Greater sage-grouse and I commend Ken Mayer and his colleagues on the Sage-Grouse Initiative Team for the work they are doing throughout the West to manage this important species,” said Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval.