Ray Iddings, Jr.
Landscape Stewardship Certificate of Appreciation for 2008

THE PUBLIC LANDS FOUNDATION presents Ray Iddings, Jr. with a Landscape Stewardship Certificate of Appreciation.  The Foundation grants this recognition to honor private citizens and organizations who work to advance and sustain community-based stewardship on landscapes that include, in whole or in part, public lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).  Candidates for the award include any private citizen or citizen group of the United States who, over the past 1-5 years, has demonstrated sustained outstanding leadership, vision, and purpose in contributing to BLM’s efforts and in motivating other citizens and institutions to work together to more effectively manage whole landscapes, including watersheds, planning or management units, and other land systems upon which people share a common interest.  

In his nomination of Ray Iddings, Rick Cooper, BLM Hollister Field Manager, detailed many of the contributions Ray has made.

“As a California Archaeological Site Steward Program (CASSP) graduate Ray has volunteered hundreds of hours in the field, conducting archeological site documentation and monitoring ‘at-risk’ cultural resources, and he has encouraged other interested members of the public to join the California Archaeological Site Stewardship Program and to preserve cultural resources in their communities.

“Ray updated and digitally converted cultural resource records into a useable format for management purposes suitable to the BLM and the California Office of Historic Preservation (OHP);

“As principal of ‘3 Rocks Research’ Ray has conducted oral interviews with ranchers and retired miners to preserve local histories and provide valuable information for regional cultural landscape overviews.  And, Ray created and maintains informational web sites on the internet that highlight the history of southern San Benito County and western Fresno County, California, specifically http://www.3rocks.org (an independent research initiative) and http://www.new-idria.org (the New Idria Preservation Project; dedicated to preserving a historic mercury mine town site).”

The Public Lands Foundation is pleased to present Ray Iddings, Jr. this Citation and Certificate of Appreciation for invaluable contributions to the stewardship of America’s public landscapes.

/s/ George Lea, President