2018 Jim Posewitz Professional Conservationist Award
"As a professional in the U.S.D.A. Forest Service, Alex was especially well suited
to his 2011 assignment as Yellowstone District Ranger in an area dominated by
rugged and wildlife-rich Crazy Mountains and by controversy as private landowners
fought the public’s historic access to spectacular high country."
"As a professional in the U.S.D.A. Forest Service, Alex was especially well suited
to his 2011 assignment as Yellowstone District Ranger in an area dominated by
rugged and wildlife-rich Crazy Mountains and by controversy as private landowners
fought the public’s historic access to spectacular high country."
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| USFS Yellowstone District Ranger Alex Sienkiewicz & Jim Posewitz |
2018 Jim Posewitz Professional Conservationist Award -
Alex Sienkiewicz
Alex Sienkiewicz
Alex Sienkiewicz, the Yellowstone District Ranger based in Livingston, who was removed (later reinstated) from his
position, after a handful of Crazy Mountain landowners who block public access to public lands, orchestrated efforts for his removal, was just awarded the Jim Posewitz Professional Conservationist Award by the Cinnabar Foundation.
"As a professional in the U.S.D.A. Forest Service, Alex was especially well suited to his 2011 assignment as Yellowstone District Ranger in an area dominated by rugged and wildlife-rich Crazy Mountains and by controversy as private landowners fought the public’s historic access to spectacular high country. Armed with
leadership skills, a law degree and doctorate in forestry, he was the perfect person to stand up to these landowners...
Each year as District Ranger, Alex instructed his staff on Forest Service protocol for public access. He posted informational signs urging trail users to refrain from signing documents that granted them permission to use historic trails to access public land because these documents could then constitute legal precedent for the landowners’ unlawful claims of permissive access. Each year these government signs were removed and replaced by locked gates and no trespassing signs, which he and his colleagues immediately replaced with new signs spelling out the public’s right to access and then reopened the gates. Alex knew he stood on solid ground since agency regulations clearly recognized the public’s right regarding the historic use of trails. He simply
defended the public’s right to historic access to the Custer-Gallatin National Forest against a barrage of challenges from landowners, commodities groups, and politicians."
Meet the man who's spent a lifetime conserving Montana’s natural resources
"Considered to be the father of hunting ethics in the nation, Jim Posewitz has spent a lifetime conserving Montana’s natural resources and he hopes that future generations will carry on that fight.
Posewitz has advocated for Montana’s outdoor conservation and now through a new memoir he hopes to pass those lessons to future generations.
'When we talk about the things that most Montanans value, it is the things we failed to exploit, the things we have nurtured, preserved and restored that give us our greatest sense of pride -- a Montana with wild places for the next generation to be young in,' Posewitz said."
"As a professional in the U.S.D.A. Forest Service, Alex was especially well suited to his 2011 assignment as Yellowstone District Ranger in an area dominated by rugged and wildlife-rich Crazy Mountains and by controversy as private landowners fought the public’s historic access to spectacular high country. Armed with
leadership skills, a law degree and doctorate in forestry, he was the perfect person to stand up to these landowners...
Each year as District Ranger, Alex instructed his staff on Forest Service protocol for public access. He posted informational signs urging trail users to refrain from signing documents that granted them permission to use historic trails to access public land because these documents could then constitute legal precedent for the landowners’ unlawful claims of permissive access. Each year these government signs were removed and replaced by locked gates and no trespassing signs, which he and his colleagues immediately replaced with new signs spelling out the public’s right to access and then reopened the gates. Alex knew he stood on solid ground since agency regulations clearly recognized the public’s right regarding the historic use of trails. He simply
defended the public’s right to historic access to the Custer-Gallatin National Forest against a barrage of challenges from landowners, commodities groups, and politicians."
Meet the man who's spent a lifetime conserving Montana’s natural resources
"Considered to be the father of hunting ethics in the nation, Jim Posewitz has spent a lifetime conserving Montana’s natural resources and he hopes that future generations will carry on that fight.
Posewitz has advocated for Montana’s outdoor conservation and now through a new memoir he hopes to pass those lessons to future generations.
'When we talk about the things that most Montanans value, it is the things we failed to exploit, the things we have nurtured, preserved and restored that give us our greatest sense of pride -- a Montana with wild places for the next generation to be young in,' Posewitz said."
Jim's recent book - My Best Shot"Jim Posewitz has fought for Montana s wildlife and wild places all his life. During his 32-year career with the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks, Posewitz created and led the ground-breaking Ecological Services Division that helped protect the Rocky Mountain Front and many other vitally important lands and waters. In one of his major conservation successes, Posewitz joined the growing list of Montanans who, through the years, stepped up on behalf of Montana s free-flowing Yellowstone River. After that long, interesting career, he helped establish grass-roots conservation and hunting organizations and wrote popular books on the North American wildlife conservation model, including the nationally bestselling Beyond Fair Chase. In this engaging and inspiring autobiography, Poz shows how determined individuals can and must protect America s democracy of the wild."
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Thank you,
Kathryn QannaYahu
406-579-7748
www.EMWH.org
Helena, MT
