Political campaign strategists emphasize the importance of an effective "on-the-ground" operation in bringing supporters to the ballot box. One took place in Wyoming recently that had nothing directly to do with any upcoming elections.
The US Bureau of Land Management's Buffalo, Wyo., field office, the Wyoming Conservation Corps (WCC), and employees from Devon Energy Corp.'s Gillette field office and corporate team came together for a 9-day preservation, restoration, and education project to improve sage grouse habitat in the Powder River basin's Burnt Hollow area.
It was the seventh year that Devon, WCC, and local BLM officials worked together to improve federal lands in the Cowboy State, according to BLM.
"We are thrilled to continue our efforts alongside the WCC and Devon, building on the many initiatives we've completed in the past," Duane Spencer, who manages the BLM field office, said on Oct. 16. "These activities are essential to BLM's success and truly benefit the entire community."
Employees from that office joined 19 Devon executives and Gillette field office employees to thin and remove 550 juniper and ponderosa pine trees on 160 acres of priority sage grouse habitat on BLM lands. It was part of a multiyear effort to remove invasive trees from the bird's habitat across the northern Powder River basin.
Politics can tend to get down-and-dirty. This effort looked more down-and-dusty, as anyone who has tried to uproot a tough High Western Desert plant might say.
An effective partnership
"Each year our staff works side-by-side with [WCC] and [BLM] to preserve the land and protect habitats in our key areas of operation," said Kevin McAulay, Devon's production superintendent in the Powder River basin. "We're proud of our partnership and are dedicated to being good stewards of the land."
Devon also hosted an educational day for WCC students, BLM leaders, and educators from the Cottonwood Elementary School in the nearby town of Wright and its junior and senior high school. Students took a field and drilling rig tour, and learned about safety protocol, the area's geologic formations, how oil and gas are produced and how to work with the federal government on public lands.
As one of the state's top oil producers, McAulay said, "we join with partners like these to strengthen the communities where we live and work."
WCC Project Coordinator Patrick Harrington said, "Devon and BLM continue to invest in WCC members and contribute to their knowledge base of natural resource conservation across Wyoming. Our program would not be possible without the support of these partners and their commitment to providing experiences for generations of [WCC] leaders and members."