- June 16, 2006, ENLC received a certificate of appreciation from the Ely BLM office that states, ""In appreciation
of your partnership in implementing the Eastern Nevada Landscape Restoration Project. Through the
leadership of the Board, dedication of your staff & support of your members, the coalition is in the forefront of
restoring the ecological health of the Great Basin."
- April 12, 2006 received notification of $5,000 grant award from the Center for Invasive Plants for the
Ruth/Robison CWMA.
- March 4, 2006 Gretchen Baker invited to join ENLC Board of Trustees and accepts.
- February 9, 2006 hosted a winter noxious weed workshop for all interested parties. Workshop was sponsored
by local Cooperative Weed Management Areas and Wilbur-Ellis Company. Purpose of the workshop was to
educate participants on how to get the most bang for their buck out of the chemicals they use to control noxious
weeds.
- January 30, 2006 received $42,500 in grant funding from the Nevada Department of Agriculture for the Steptoe,
Snake Valley, Newark/Long Valley, White River and Railroad Valley Cooperative Weed Management Areas.
- December 6, 2005 received $3,000 grant from Norcross Foundation for computer equipment and power point
projector.
- June 17, 2005 presented with U.S. Forest Service Centennial Award in recognition of outstanding contributions
and leadership in public service during the Forest Service's first century of service.
- April 2005 receive two $5,000 Center for Invasive Plant Management grants for work in the Newark Long Valley
CWMA on Leafy Spurge and for work in the Snake Valley CWMA on Tamarisk.
- April 2005 received a $30,000 Partners in Wildlife grant from USFWS for work on private property in Gleason
Creek and Sampson Creek.
- March 2005 received a $5,000 grant from the Nevada Division of Forestry for the 2005 annual workshop.
- January 2005 received $47,800 in grants for the five cooperative weed management areas operating under
ENLC - for weed control efforts and education and outreach efforts.
- December 2004, notified of pending second $250,000 Congressional earmark to initiate restoration work in the
Smith Valley Watershed.
- November 2004 recipient of $65,000 grant from Intermountain West Joint Ventures for restoration of sage
grouse habitat in the Gleason Creek Watershed.
- November 2004 received $4000 grant from Patagonia for Aspen stand restoration work.
- November 2004 received $2500 grant from Norcross Foundation for new computer equipment.
- September 30, 2004, awarded $250,000 Congressional earmark to initiate restoration work in the Gleason
Creek Watershed
- August 2004 started restoration work in Gleason Creek Watershed with the BLM
- June 2004 hosted fifth annual workshop and tour
- February 2004 - Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation makes a $20,000 donation to the Coalition.
- December 2003, the Coalition publishes Annual Report for Fiscal Year 2003.
- October 2003 - the Coalition steps out from under the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation umbrella and stands
officially on its own.
- September 2003, Rebecca Watson, Assistant Interior Secretary meets with ENLC Board and tours Ely area.
- December of 2002, the Coalition publishes Annual Report for 2002.
- September of 2002, the Coalition receives 501C nonprofit status from the internal Revenue Service.
- March of 2002, Kathleen Clark, Director of the Bureau of Land Management visits eastern Nevada and meets
with ENLC Board of Trustees.
- February of 2002, the Coalition steering committee elects the Eastern Nevada Landscape Coalition Board of
Trustees, thus replacing the steering committee.
- February of 2002, ENLC is incorporated in the State of Nevada.
- January of 2002, the Coalition went online to communicate through the world wide web.
- December of 2001, the Coalition published its first quarterly newsletter, "Landscape News".
- May of 2001, the Coalition rented office space at 1776 Aultman in Ely. During the course of that year we hired a
project coordinator, administrative aide, and a contract writer. The staff made several presentations around the
state seeking support and donations for the Coalition. Coalition members also began seeking grants from
several different sources.
- April 2001 - Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation agreed to act as the umbrella organization for the Coalition, until
such time as the Coalition had it's own non-profit status and was financially secure.
- Formalization of an idea: March of 2001, the Eastern Nevada Landscape Coalition was formalized at a meeting
in Reno. Close to 100 individuals from a broad cross-section of organizations, universities, and state and
federal agencies attended the meeting.
It became apparent during the meeting that everyone wanted to see something done on the ground to help
restore landscape health in Eastern Nevada. Although there were many ideas how to do this, everyone realized
that our restoration methods over the past several decades – 100 to 1000 acres at a time, were not
accomplishing the task. The restoration projects needed to be on a much larger scale.
During the Reno meeting several people volunteered to officially serve on an executive committee and several
others agreed to serve in an ex-officio capacity. This interim executive committee scheduled its next meeting for
the end of April in Ely. Since that point in time the executive committee has met almost every month to develop
the Coalition framework, address basic administrative tasks, and to discuss the first projects that the BLM
wished to undertake – namely the Ely and Mount Wilson Urban Interface projects.
In addition to the steering committee meetings a committee made up primarily of the Bureau of Land
Management personal, several individuals from the University of Nevada Reno and Utah State University and
individuals from the steering committee who had a strong interest in research, began meeting on a monthly
basis. This science committee outlined baseline data requirements, is in the process of identifying what data
has already been collected, and in what areas additional data should be collected to properly monitor the
projects.
The science committee also produced a white paper for the Coalition, which discusses the history of the Eastern
Nevada landscape and how past management has brought us to this point. The paper discuss the
consequences of doing nothing, and the forecast is catastrophic given the ecological conditions and threats
from invasive species. Fire prevention is not good management in a fire disturbance regime. Doing nothing is
not a viable option.
In the summer of 2000, Gene Kolkman, the Ely District Manager for the Bureau of Land Management, invited a
group of leaders from the resource management and the conservation community to see what was happening
on the land. The result was a commitment by several organizations to the vision of the land’s potential. The
vision of workable ecosystem management with improvement on our past management practices caught the
imaginations of this diverse group.
It was evident to this group that the lessons learned from the adaptive management process on private lands
could be implemented on public lands. These lessons have taught us to manage for the land while using it,
rather than managing for the use.
In 1999, after raging wildfires had swept Nevada and much of the West, the Great Basin Restoration Initiative
was born. The Eastern Nevada Landscape Restoration Project was developed as a means of implementing the
restoration initiative.
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