Jennifer Jewett, Legends Award recipient, hiking with her son Tommy at Des Lacs National Wildlife
Refuge in North Dakota.
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Three National Wildlife Refuge
System field staffers and six law
enforcement officers have been
cited this year for exemplary work.
Legends Award
Jennifer Jewett, education and outreach
coordinator at Des Lacs National
Wildlife Refuge, ND, was named the
Legends Award recipient. She was
recognized for her innovative programs
to inspire and educate youth and for
developing community partners.
She oversaw two AmeriCorps National
Civilian Community Corps crews that
completed major improvement projects,
including renovating an accessible
nature trail, removing hazardous trees
at a dangerous intersection, prepping
and assisting with prescribed fires, and
organizing events such as Christmas
bird counts and an endangered species
day at a North Dakota zoo.
The Legends Award is presented
annually by the American Recreation
Coalition, in partnership with the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service and other
federal land management agencies.
Beacon Award
Pamela Steinhaus, visitor services
manager at Upper Mississippi River
National Wildlife and Fish Refuge,
Savanna, IL, District, and Lori Iverson,
supervisory recreation planner at
National Elk Refuge, WY, were chosen
as Beacon Award winners by the
American Recreation Coalition.
The Beacon Award is given annually
to federal land management agency
employees who stand out in the field of
information and technology.
Steinhaus was recognized for her
work integrating technology into her
environmental strategy, which includes
the use of free wi-fi service to refuge
visitors and the installation of wildlife
viewing cams throughout the southern
portion of the refuge.
Iverson was recognized for her
integration of technology into a program
titled "Journals and JPGs—Seasons
on the Refuge" and using digital
photography to stimulate interest in
the natural resources of the Greater
Yellowstone Ecosystem by using the
refuge as a living field lab.
Regional Law Enforcement Awards
Isaac Bedingfield, Alaska Region,
based at Kodiak Refuge. He patrols the
refuge and nearby islands and marine
waters by boat and air. His piloting skills
give him all-season access to remote
areas where people don’t expect a law
enforcement presence. He is also a
Service firearms instructor.
Shelby Finney, Southwest Region, based
at Salt Plains Refuge, OK. He helped
the Bureau of Indian Affairs fight crime
on the Mescalero Apache Reservation,
NM, as part of Operation Alliance. As a
member of the Service Honor Guard, he
helped dedicate a Pennsylvania memorial
to passengers of Flight 93 killed by
terrorists on September 11, 2001. In
2009 he rescued four women and an
infant from flash floods, while piloting an
airboat for county sheriff departments.
Deb Goeb, Mountain-Prairie Region,
based at Charles M. Russell Refuge,
MT. She is the lead firearm instructor
in an eight-state area and evaluates
officers’ performance in the Service’s
field training program. She established
night patrols to curb illegal drug and
alcohol use on the refuge. Her resolve in
tracing an elk poaching case in a closed
portion of the refuge led to a federal
court conviction.
Carl Lantz, Midwest Region, based
at Crab Orchard Refuge, IL. While
on detail, he helped southern Indiana
refuges enforce hunting laws. At Patoka
River Refuge and Wildlife Management
Area, he determined that a group of
hunters had exceeded the duck-hunting
limit. Two hunters confessed and paid
fines totaling $1,800.
Bryant Marcial, Southeast Region,
based at Caribbean Islands Refuge
Complex, PR. He helped convict animal
traffickers for selling endangered sea
turtle eggs and meat, a violation of the
Endangered Species Act, and he also
conducted stakeouts to confirm violations
of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.
Gareth Williams, Northeast Region,
based at Potomac River Refuge
Complex, VA. He saved a life by
investigating a matter that other
agencies initially had set aside because
no missing persons report had been
filed.
