CNO employees recognized May 17 stand with Director Dale Hall (right) and CNO Manager Steve Thompson (left) following the award presentations.

Service Director Dale Hall and California and Nevada Operations Manager, Steve Thompson honored 12 CNO employees for their commitment and hard work in achieving conservation excellence during an award ceremony May 17 at the CNO All Project Leaders meeting aboard the Delta King in Sacramento, Calif.

Dale Hall presented two of his coveted belt buckles.  The first went to Mary Crist, Administrative Officer at the San Luis NWRC.  Over the past 5 -6 years, Mary has been providing support to many other refuges and offices, willing to work overtime, while maintaining her own high workload.  Mary also mentors new administrative employees from many refuges by inviting new employees to San Luis to train them on the Service's administrative management systems and has visited new employees at their own stations to provide one-on-one support.

Larry Wade, Maintenance Supervisor at the San Francisco Bay NWR was the recipient of the second buckle.  In his short tenure at San Francisco NWR Complex, Larry has studded his career with project accomplishments, leadership successes and has consistently demonstrates a remarkably positive "can do" attitude. 

CNO Manager, Steve Thompson conceived of the CNO Employee Excellence Award as a way to recognize employees who have demonstrated what Secretary Kempthorne calls, "Stewardship for America with Integrity and Excellence."  The employees recognized at the gathering not only have gone “above and beyond”; it’s the way they do business.

Al Donner and Viola Taylor with External Affairs in the Sacramento Fish and Wildlife Office were recognized for their efforts on behalf of CNO at the California State Fair; Cynthia Martinez, currently Manager at the Desert National Wildlife Refuge Complex was honored for her efforts to recover Devils Hole pupfish while serving as the Assistant Field Supervisor in the Nevada Fish and Wildlife’s Las Vegas Field Office; and Clyde Morris Refuge Manager at the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge was honored for sustained performance as the manager of the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay NWR. 

Roger Guinee the Chief of Water Operations in the California and Nevada Operations Office was recognized for his work as the lead for the Service in the Stockton East lawsuit. Testimony presented by Roger is cited in several sections of the opinion.  Daniel Welsh, Environmental Contaminants Division Chief for the Sacramento Fish and Wildlife Office was acknowledged for sustained outstanding performance over more than a decade, first as Natural Resource Damage Assessment Branch chief, and now as EC Division Chief; and Dan Castleberry, Fisheries Program Manager in CNO honored for his work as the lead negotiator for the Service in the Friant settlement negotiations. Ultimately, these negotiations resulted in the signing of an historic settlement in October, 2007, and the drafting of legislation to implement the settlement. 

John Hamilton, Assistant Field Supervisor at the Yreka Fish and Wildlife Office was recognized for the development of the prescriptions and preparation for the trial-type hearing in the PacifiCorp FERC relicensing; Dixie Ward, Secretary at the Carlsbad Fish and Wildlife Office was recognized for outstanding professionalism, ingenuity, and attention to detail when she volunteers to tackle some of the most difficult tasks within CNO such as the Secretary’s Cooperative Conservation Listening Session in San Bernardino, the CNO Administrative Officers' Meeting in Las Vegas, as well the CNO All Project Leader Meeting; and Marc Weitzel, Manager at the Hopper Mountain National Wildlife Refuge Complex was honored for his efforts to expand the condor recovery program and to reach new audiences through his work with the Mexican government.