Kevin Mack of The Wilderness Society presents LouAnn Jacobson, manager of Canyons of the Ancients National Monument, with the award on behalf of the Conservation System Alliance.

Posted Oct 28, 2008 by The Conservation System Alliance

Oct18
The Conservation System Alliance presented its third annual leadership award to LouAnn Jacobson at a ceremony at Crow Canyon Archeological Center near Cortez.
The event was a celebration of the 25th anniversary of Crow Canyon, a member of the Conservation Alliance.
Lou Ann, as manager of Canyons of the Ancients National Monument, is responsible for the richest collection of native american cultural sites on our public land.
Thanks to Crow Canyon Archeological Center, who nominated Lou Ann.
Also in attendance at the event were representatives from the National Trust for Historic Preservation, The Wilderness Society and the Conservation System Foundation.
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Joyce Alexander
Communications Specialist
Crow Canyon Archaeological Center
970-564-4362
jalexander@crowcanyon.org

Conservation System Alliance Honors LouAnn Jacobson

(CORTEZ, Colo.)—October 21, 2008—LouAnn Jacobson, manager of the Canyons of the Ancients National Monument and director of the Anasazi Heritage Center in Dolores, Colorado, is the recipient of the third annual Bureau of Land Management (BLM) National Landscape Conservation System Leadership Award. The award was given by the Conservation System Alliance on October 18 at the annual meeting of the Crow Canyon Archaeological Center, the nominating organization, at Cortez, CO. The Conservation System Alliance is a coalition of more than 80 diverse groups, such as The National Council of Churches, Republicans for Environmental Protection, and the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

“In this, the third year of the National Landscape Conservation System Leadership Award, we had many fine candidates; however, the enthusiasm that the sponsor, the Crow Canyon Archaeological Center, had for LouAnn was one reason why we are able to honor her today,” said The Wilderness Society’s Kevin Mack, representing the Conservation System Alliance.

In Crow Canyon Archaeological Center’s nomination letter, Mark Varien, vice president of programs, said, “LouAnn merits special recognition for showing outstanding innovation and accomplishment on behalf of the Conservation System. She has accomplished this as part of a professional lifetime of service in the American Southwest. Most particularly, LouAnn has repeatedly shown a proven ability to leverage scarce financial resources by forming close and effective partnerships with state agencies, local governments, tribes, [non-governmental organizations], and individuals.”

Jacobson began her career as an interpreter at Mesa Verde National Park and participated in National Park Service excavations at Chaco Culture National Historic Park. She first went to work for the BLM as a compliance archaeologist for the BLM Farmington Resource Area. She has also served as BLM Assistant State Archaeologist for New Mexico. In 1993, Jacobson began her work as the director of the BLM’s Anasazi Heritage Center, a museum and curation facility, and she was appointed the manager of the Canyons of the Ancients National Monument in 2000, the year the monument was designated. According to Varien, by bringing together the functions of both the museum and the monument, Jacobson has had a “lasting impact on the community and the region, and ecosystems, cultural resources, and natural systems.”

The BLM’s National Landscape Conservation System was established in 2000. The System is a collection of national monuments, wilderness areas, scenic rivers, trails, and historic sites, across the country and especially throughout the American West. Its mission is to conserve, protect, and restore nationally significant landscapes recognized for their cultural, ecological, and scientific values for the American public.