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IDAHO FALLS, Idaho — Bureau of Land Management Idaho Falls District employees Linda Price, the Salmon Field Office Manager, and Jeff Cundick, the Minerals Branch Chief, were awarded the Bureau of Land Management Director’s Award for Excellence Through Leadership for providing exceptional public service. The Director’s awards recognize employees for their valuable contributions and exemplary service in five categories: Excellence Through Leadership; Excellence Through Stewardship; Team Accomplishments; Diversity and Inclusion; and Safety.

Price has been the Salmon Field Manager since 2011, and currently oversees 500,000 acres of public land that serve a wide array of users. She is also attuned to the needs of grazing permittees in the Lemhi County Cattle and Horse Growers Association as she is to the goals of the Sacajawea Interpretive Center, which helps conserve the region’s rich historical and cultural resources.

“As a savvy leader, Linda prioritizes building strong working relationships with local organizations and stakeholders to get more done and is highly regarded by her staff for her openness, inclusiveness, and ability to instill these traits in others,” said Idaho Falls District Manager Mary D’Aversa. “She is well-respected and valued as a leader across central Idaho communities, and her engagement reflects the Bureau’s commitment to its multiple-use mandate.”

Price’s leadership resulted in the successful implementation of numerous significant fish habitat restoration projects in the region including the removal of a tire streambank revetment along the Salmon River. The revetment, built in the 1950s out of old tires and car parts, had become an eyesore and public safety hazard, releasing tires and pollutants into the river, and causing erosion on adjacent sections of riverbank. Knowing previous attempts to remove the tires and debris failed, she proposed the Bureau use heavy equipment to remove the debris during the late fall and winter when water levels were at their lowest. She then led a network of regional partners to rebuild and stabilize the riverbank, ensuring the Salmon River continues to serve as a valued regional resource.

Jeff Cundick also received the Director’s Excellence Through Leadership Award for his work as Minerals Branch Chief in Pocatello and his key role in modernizing open-pit phosphate mining practices to reduce and eliminate selenium impacts for the BLM. Since 2004, Cundick has led Idaho’s federal phosphate mining regulatory program that is the largest, most complex non-energy leasable minerals program in the Bureau. He is responsible for permitting the region’s open-pit phosphate mines, which supply about 22 percent of the nation’s phosphate and directly support more than 1200 jobs.

“More than 20 years ago, Jeff began working with federal agencies, state regulatory agencies, and industry leaders, and has continued to inspire them to work collaboratively to adjust permitting requirements and mining practices to reduce selenium impacts or, where possible, eliminate them altogether,” said D’Aversa. “His exemplary leadership resulted in the development of a sustainable permitting and mine administration program that balances the needs of industry and environmental protection which he has tackled with professionalism, innovation and fairness.”

“These awards recognize outstanding leadership, dedicated stewardship, successful collaborative efforts, and innovative approaches that support the Bureau in meeting the challenges of the present and the future,” added D’Aversa. “People are the BLM’s most valuable asset, and Linda and Jeff set a high bar for us to follow.”

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