Lava Lake Land & Livestock, a local sheep ranching outfit, has been presented with the 2009 Rangeland Stewardship Award by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management.
At a recent meeting of the Public Lands Council, an organization that represents public lands ranchers, in Sacramento, Calif., BLM Director Bob Abbey gave the award to recognize Lava Lake's rangeland management on its 27 grazing allotments permitted by the BLM's Shoshone Field Office.
Owners Brian and Kathleen Bean, who bought the ranch in 1999, have won numerous awards for implementing conservation planning and management actions to improve resource conditions while producing organically raised lamb.
The ranch is near Craters of the Moon National Monument, at the southern foothills of the Pioneer Mountains around Carey, and operates on more than 500,000 acres of range land, both public and private, throughout the Wood River Valley and beyond.
"A prime example of their adaptive management strategies is the use of global positioning system collars on their sheep," Shoshone Field Office Rangeland Management Specialist Codie Martin stated in a news release last week. "These GPS collars are used to track the movements and locations of their sheep bands. This information helps them determine future grazing strategies and adjust management accordingly."
In addition to responsible grazing practices, Lava Lake was recognized for helping restore riparian vegetation along streams, improving sage grouse habitat, promoting educational opportunities to ranch visitors and creating a biological research center for scientists and students.
Jon Duval: jduval@mtexpress.com
