On March 1, Forest Management, Washington Office, presented the Richard Fitzgerald Award for Excellence in Forest Management to this year’s winner, Amy Lockner.

Lockner, an entomologist with State and Private Forestry based on the Grand Mesa-Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forests, was nominated for her role in halting a potentially devastating pine bark beetle outbreak in the Gunnison Valley.

Just two years ago, she and another employee spotted the initial infestation. While treatment plans often take years to come to fruition due to regulatory hurdles, Lockner’s plan allowed treatment to begin much more quickly.
She developed an action plan in coordination with the district that allowed them to start treatments just four months after identifying the outbreak.

Her quick response and ability to leverage partnerships with state, nonprofit, county, federal and private actors prevented a 600-acre infestation from spreading to 300,000 acres of mature lodgepole pines just north of the site. Read more at the Gunnison Country Times, page A1.