November 16, 2005
Scott Harger Brings Home the Gold
SWVMA President, Patti Fenner presents Scott with the award
The Southwest Vegetation Management Association (SWVMA) announced that Scott Harger, Arizona Master Naturalist and volunteer, has been selected for the Annual Award for Excellence in Vegetation Management for 2005. The award was presented at their annual conference, held this year at the Four Seasons Sheraton in Phoenix. This award honors outstanding management effort in projects and programs for controlling noxious and invasive plants. An executive group composed of botanists and natural resource professions judged nominees on criteria that emphasize integrated management approaches to invasive and noxious plants, and cooperation between vegetation managers.
“It has been a year to remember for this organization, with plentiful moisture in both summer and winter, following years of drought. Dormant weed seeds erupted, so this was a make-or-break year for weed control in many places. Preparation and cooperation have been crucial,” said Laura Moser, Invasive Plant Specialist for Coconino National Forest, and a member of the SWVMA selection committee. “Scott brought a lot of experience to the table, pulling together agencies and people for events such as ‘weed walks’ at Picture Canyon in Flagstaff, or working on a multi-agency bio-control team in the San Francisco Peaks Weed Management Area, or just merging efforts on the Grand Canyon National Park’s Threatened and Endangered Plant Species Data Base project. And this is only a partial list.”
The Coconino Natural Resource Conservation District seems to agree that these are valuable skills for an important issue. They recruited Mr Harger in October to be program manager for their Technical Services contract, which assists rangeland managers with environmental monitoring and improvement projects.
The Southwest Vegetation Management Association was organized in 1997 to increase awareness about invasive vegetation and foster cooperation between vegetation managers. Its mission is to conserve and protect Arizona’s natural resources by providing a state-level organization that emphasizes an integrated management approach to address invasive or pest plants.