ABANDONED MINE LAND AWARDS

Since 1992, the Office of Surface Mining has presented awards to abandoned mine land reclamation programs that completed exemplary reclamation.  The objective is to give public recognition to those responsible for the nation's most outstanding achievement in land reclamation and to encourage the exchange and transfer of successful reclamation technology.

The 2007 Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation Awards were presented in Bloomington, Indiana, during the National Association of Abandoned Mine Land Programs' annual conference. The awards and winners are:

National Award - NEW MEXICO

Category II National Award - VIRGINIA

Appalachian Regional Award - PENNSYLVANIA

Mid-Continent Regional Award - KANSAS

Western Regional Award - WYOMING

For more information on the winning projects, visit the Office of Surface Mining's web page at www.osmre.gov. Also, for more information and photos on all award winners, check out the NAAMLP Fall 2007 newsletter.

STAN BARNARD MEMORIAL AWARD

This award was established in 2001 and is presented in memory of Stan Barnard (1958-1998). It is given to an individual who exhibits Stan-like qualities of outstanding dedication, commitment, and hard work toward the enhancement of the Association. This award is presented at the National Association of Abandoned Mine land Programs' annual conference. This year's winner is:

Pat Park - West Virginia AML Program

DAVE BUCKNAM
OUSTANDING INSTRUCTOR AWARD

This award was first presented in 2006 in memory of Dave Bucknam (1941-2004). Any active or inactive state, tribal, or federal employee designated as an instructor by the OSM National Technical Training Program is eligible for the Dave Bucknam Outstanding Instructor Award. This individual must exhibit the special qualities of dedication, leadership, compassion, and commitment as epitomized by Dave Bucknam in promoting the training of state, tribal, and federal employees. This award is presented at the National Association of Abandoned Mine land Programs' annual conference. This year's winner is:

Allen Kraps - Office of Surface Mining