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GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – Today, BLM Colorado’s Acting State Director Greg Shoop honored local BLM employees and partners for their outstanding efforts in community education and outreach. The Grand Junction Ethnobotany team and BLM McInnis Canyons and Dominguez-Escalante National Conservation Area Manager Collin Ewing were recognized.

“It is a privilege to recognize the work our staff and partners do each day to preserve and protect our public lands while providing education and public outreach,” said Shoop. 

The Grand Junction Ethnobotany team received the Heritage Hero Award. The team includes BLM Archaeologists Alissa Leavitt-Reynolds and Natalie Clark; Cultural Rights and Protection Director for the Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah and Ouray Reservation Betsy Chapoose; Colorado State University Cooperative Extension Horticulture Agent Susan Carter; and CSU Cooperative Extension Horticulture Coordinator Susan Honea. The Heritage Hero Award is a national award that celebrates volunteers who have worked with the BLM to help care for our nation’s natural and cultural resources.

The team’s award stems from their work in bringing Ute tribal elders and youth to their ancestral lands to learn about traditional plant uses. The Ute Indian Tribe provided transportation for elders and youth to visit public lands on the western slope.

The project was so rewarding that the partners decided to expand it by building a ‘Learning Garden’ site to provide a living laboratory for local schools, clubs, senior groups and visitors to the area. Mesa County donated 2.5 acres of county land adjacent to the existing Cooperative Extension Service facility in Grand Junction to build the garden.

The site gives visitors the chance to experience how the Ute people lived, providing opportunities to learn about traditional Native American gardening, edible native plants and low water-use plants.

“Plants are a backbone of our natural world and can be used to teach everything from science to stewardship,” said Shoop. “The garden also connects local students to the natural environment by fostering understanding of how these plants supported daily life for the Ute people, who have deep ties to this part of western Colorado.”

Collin Ewing, BLM McInnis Canyons and Dominguez-Escalante National Conservation Area Manager, received the Eric Finstick Stewardship Award. The Finstick Award was established in 2008 to honor the memory, legacy and vision of Eric Finstick, a long-time Bureau of Land Management Colorado employee and former BLM Colorado Wilderness Coordinator. The award recognizes those whose actions reflect Finstick’s spirit of stewardship in advancing public lands in Colorado with special and unique values, including wilderness and other special places.

“Collin is a true leader in his work to conserve and protect the Dominguez-Escalante and McInnis Canyons National Conservation Areas,” said Shoop. “He has a keen ability to manage these special places while maintaining a strong commitment to our broader multiple use mission, inspiring BLM staff and surrounding communities.

Among his achievements, Ewing built a strong partnership with Colorado Canyons Association. This partnership reaches more than 1,500 youth annually through several environmental education programs. The popular “Nature Knowledge Days” program targets third grade students, giving them the opportunity to visit the NCAs and learn about public lands stewardship.

Ewing also has a strong commitment to ensuring quality recreation opportunities, evident in his work with the City of Fruita. He established a successful working relationship with the City Manager and Parks and Recreation staff to leverage business and city funds to build 6.5 miles of new mountain bike trails within the McInnis Canyons NCA.

“Collin exemplifies BLM’s commitment to being a good neighbor and building community partnerships comes naturally to him,” said Shoop. “By working together, we accomplish more and deliver better results than any of us could on our own.”