BLM California presents Graciela Hinshaw with prestigious Ed Hastey Stewardship Award
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EL DORADO HILLS, Calif. — In recognition of leadership and public service, BLM California has presented the Ed Hastey Stewardship Award to Pine Hill Preserve Manager Graciela Hinshaw from the Mother Lode Field Office. The award recognizes employees who embody the spirit of California’s legendary former state director through their exemplary efforts managing public lands and building partnerships that will ensure sustainability and public benefit for generations to come.
Hinshaw, a botanist by training, has been the Pine Hill Preserve Manager since 2006. The Pine Hill Preserve, established in 2001, is a cooperatively managed by ten public and private sector agencies and organizations to protect the habitat for a collection of rare plants and plant communities that grow in rich gabbro soils in western El Dorado County. Roughly ten percent of California’s native plants are found at the Preserve, which is home to nearly 750 different types of plants, including eight rare species, five of which are federally listed and found nowhere else in the world.
Under Graciela’s leadership, the preserve has increased from ~3,900 to 4,940 acres, a 20 percent increase and has achieved 99 percent of the Recovery Plan’s goal for protected habitat. As the preserve manager, Graciela has developed and implemented numerous programs focusing on research, public outreach and education, the Young Profession Development program and hazard fuel management.
“Graciela is an amazing natural resource manager who has developed numerous partnerships,” says Acting BLM Mother Lode Field Manager Jeff Horn. “She is well known by local conservation groups and educational institutions for the strength and quality of her programs and her genuine, kind, supportive nature. People want to work with her. Graciela’s combination of public outreach, applied research, and on-the-ground management is a winning trifecta for Pine Hill Preserve and an outstanding example of holistic habitat management.”
Ed Hastey served 22 years as BLM California state director in two appointments, the most recent stretching from 1981 until he retired from Federal service in 1999. He also served as the BLM’s associate director providing critical leadership as the BLM implemented provisions of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act. He is widely admired for setting an enduring collaborative tone in the BLM’s dealings with communities, organizations, state and local government, and stakeholders. After leaving Federal service, Hastey spent 20 years with Resources Law Group, acquiring lands from willing sellers to improve management of parks and wilderness for future generations. He died in February 2020.
The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land located primarily in 12 western states, including Alaska, on behalf of the American people. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. Our mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of America’s public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations.