BLM/AERC Partnership Honored in New Mexico

On April 7, Kathleen Henkel, Roger Taylor, Barney Fleming, Jerry Fruth, and Randy Eiland had the great pleasure to represent AERC at the Fort Stanton (NM) trailhead where Kathleen Clarke, National Director of the Bureau of Land Management presented AERC with the BLM's highest award of appreciation for AERC's partnership with BLM. Ms Clarke is a most dynamic and passionate person who believes in the recreational value and use of federal lands by the private sector.

Roger Taylor was presented a plaque for donating over 1,000 hours a year for the last five years to development of trails and other projects at Fort Stanton. The AERC members who were present were given Four C's certificates signed by Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton and Ms. Clarke. The certificates were in recognition of AERC’s partnership in land management and trails development at Fort Stanton. Then Ms. Clarke presented to our executive director, accepting for AERC, a beautiful custom designed crystal award from the BLM—a large crystal base engraved with appreciation for AERC’s partnership with the BLM with a beautiful and impressive crystal world that spun on an air base. It is a magnificent award that AERC will keep at the office—and bring to the convention.

The most impressive point of the presentation was Director Clarke's extemporaneous address to those present. The BLM director said she is especially proud of the relationship the BLM has with AERC and commented that she will encourage her 10,000 employees to seek out the private sector to become partners in land management, recreational use of the land, development of trails and other projects that benefit the local communities, the wildlife, and the plant life. She went so far as to say, "The BLM has millions of acres of land but only 10,000 people to manage them and I don't want more employees, I want more partners like AERC." Prompted by the success of the AERC-BLM partnership at Fort Stanton, Director Clarke said she wants her district offices to look at the “big picture.” Director Clarke wants her District Offices to take in the entire scope of land use and is encouraging her employees to seek out recreational users who can help manage the lands. Ms. Clarke also told Trails Advocacy Committee chair Jerry Fruth that she wants to meet with him in Washington to discuss how the BLM can work with AERC on other issues related to trails.

AERC has a real friend in Washington who is the national director of one of the largest federal land management organizations in the United States. It was a moment to be proud of AERC and what we have accomplished for the long-term benefit of AERC trails.

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