FIND Project Among BLM's 2010 Reclamation and Sustainable Mineral Development Award Winners

Washington, D.C. – The Lander County Sustainable Development Committee's Future Industrial Needs Project (FIND) was among the wining projects of the 2010 BLM Reclamation and Sustainable Mineral Development Awards. The awards recognize the efforts made in implementing the principles of sustainable development, a concept adopted by the United States and 192 other countries, to balance environmental, economic, and social concerns in planning for mining operations.

For this year's program, the BLM is presenting a total of four awards in three categories. The 2010 BLM Hardrock Mineral Environmental Award winners are Wyo-Ben Inc. of Greybull, WY, and the Kerber Creek Restoration Project in Saguache County, CO. The winner of the 2010 BLM Community Outreach and Security Award is the Future Industrial Needs Discovery Project of Lander County, NV. The winner of the Fix A Shaft Today! – or FAST! Award – is the Spruce Mountain Abandoned Mine Remediation Project of Nevada.

The BLM Hardrock Mineral Community Outreach and Economic Security Award highlights the component of sustainable development that relates to concern shown for community responsibilities and the economic benefits of mineral development, with an emphasis on successful coordination with local and regional stakeholders.

"These awards are all about development that meets the non-fuel mineral needs of the present generation, without compromising the needs of future generations," Director Abbey said. "All of this year's winners illustrate the BLM's concept of sustainable development," he added.

First presented in 2003, the BLM Sustainable Mineral Development awards are similar to the Interior Department's Office of Surface Mining annual awards for excellence in coal mining reclamation. The BLM's hardrock mining awards enable the Department of Interior to showcase some of the finest examples of responsible mineral development by the industrial- and metallic-minerals industry, as well as sand-and-gravel operators.

Nominations for this year's BLM hardrock mining awards were first screened by BLM State Office officials, who forwarded the applications to BLM Headquarters for final judging by a panel that included experts in mining activities from outside the BLM. Detailed information on the winners is available at this link.

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