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Fourth Annual Clarence Burch Award
2005 Award Recipients:
Jim and Joy Williams, John Pierson, Kirk Gadzia
and the USFS team of Janice Stevenson, Steve Libby, Marcia Andre & Dave Stewart
In an era when relations between ranchers and the Forest Service are often chilly, and occasionally confrontational, stories about cooperation, progress, and hope too often get overlooked. One such story can be found a few miles south of Quemado, New Mexico, in northern Catron County - a county notorious for its cranky attitude toward the federal government.
On the Williams Ranch - half public, half private - one ranch family decided to switch rather than keep fighting. The 4th Annual Clarence Burch Award was proudly presented to:
Excerpt from Program:
"In 1995, the Forest Service reviewed the Williams' grazing allotment and decided to cut the number of permitted cattle they could run on the forest. It was the first time the permit had been cut in the lifetimes of Jim OR his father, Frank, who had assembled the ranch, located a few miles south of Quemado, back in the 1940s...
"...[Jim] invited representatives of The Quivira Coalition for a tour of his ranch, and liked what he heard in their message of land health, progressive ranch management, and collaboration. When the Catron County Manager, who was also on the tour, took Williams aside to talk him out of cooperating, Williams ordered the Manager off his land.
"There was something new in the air in Catron County.
"If Jim and Joy were willing to try something new, so was John Pierson, the new Forest Service range conservationist on the District...
"...The third member of the team was Kirk Gadzia, a well-respected ranch consultant and holistic management educator from Bernalillo, NM."
Jim and Joy Williams, John Pierson, Kirk Gadzia
and the USFS team of Janice Stevenson, Steve Libby, Marcia Andre & Dave Stewart
In an era when relations between ranchers and the Forest Service are often chilly, and occasionally confrontational, stories about cooperation, progress, and hope too often get overlooked. One such story can be found a few miles south of Quemado, New Mexico, in northern Catron County - a county notorious for its cranky attitude toward the federal government.
On the Williams Ranch - half public, half private - one ranch family decided to switch rather than keep fighting. The 4th Annual Clarence Burch Award was proudly presented to:
- Jim and Joy Williams, The Williams Ranch
- John Pierson, The United States Forest Service, and
- Kirk Gadzia, Resource Management Services.
- Janice Stevenson, Quemado District Ranger, USFS
- Steve Libby, Range Officer, Gila National Forest, USFS
- Marcia Andre, Supervisor, Gila National Forest, USFS, and
- Dave Stewart, Director of Rangeland Management, Region Three, USFS.
Excerpt from Program:
"In 1995, the Forest Service reviewed the Williams' grazing allotment and decided to cut the number of permitted cattle they could run on the forest. It was the first time the permit had been cut in the lifetimes of Jim OR his father, Frank, who had assembled the ranch, located a few miles south of Quemado, back in the 1940s...
"...[Jim] invited representatives of The Quivira Coalition for a tour of his ranch, and liked what he heard in their message of land health, progressive ranch management, and collaboration. When the Catron County Manager, who was also on the tour, took Williams aside to talk him out of cooperating, Williams ordered the Manager off his land.
"There was something new in the air in Catron County.
"If Jim and Joy were willing to try something new, so was John Pierson, the new Forest Service range conservationist on the District...
"...The third member of the team was Kirk Gadzia, a well-respected ranch consultant and holistic management educator from Bernalillo, NM."
4th Burch Award Program pdf size: 2.26mb