Texas NRCS Employee Wins Agency’s Highest Rangeland Honor

Clint Rollins, rangeland management specialist with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in Amarillo, Texas, was named the agency’s National Rangeland Conservationist of the Year at the joint annual meeting of the Society for Range Management and the American Forage and Grassland Council in Louisville, Ky.

“Clint has demonstrated leadership in his field for many years,” said Dennis Thompson, NRCS national range and grazing land ecologist. Much of Rollins’ work has been with other entities. He developed educational contacts working with NRCS partners such as universities, state and federal agencies, and local land stewardship groups ranging from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to West Texas A&M University to the Native Plant Society. He has compiled educational booklets, plant identification resources and presentations that are used by schools, universities, 4-H clubs, vocational agriculture teachers and conservation districts.

“Clint’s work with livestock producers has certainly benefitted the rangeland resources in Texas,” said Don Gohmert, NRCS state conservationist for Texas. “But by working with others, our young employees, and students, Clint has guaranteed that his knowledge will be passed along to the next generation of land stewards. For that, he is to be commended.”

Each year, Rollins provides a variety of trainings on range management to NRCS employees, conservation stewardship partners, landowners and youth at countless venues. He has participated in more than 140 events since 2000 reaching thousands of individuals. The results can be measured in the hundreds of practices applied to the land, the thousands of acres treated and the tons of soil saved.

From his Amarillo office, Rollins coordinates state and federal efforts in rangeland conservation efforts for the NRCS zone that covers the Texas panhandle. Since beginning his work in the Texas Panhandle in 2002, Rollins has been involved in the completion of ecological site descriptions, including the writing, reviewing and approving the delineation for five different major land resource areas in Texas, New Mexico and Oklahoma. He assisted in the technical administration of the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, which was used for recovery efforts following the 2006 wildfires that burned more than 756,000 acres in the panhandle region.

Rollins is active in both the Texas chapter of the Society for Range Management (TSSRM) and the National Society and received the Special Recognition County Level Award at the Texas chapter annual meeting in 2007.
 

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Clint Rollins, right, NRCS rangeland management specialist, Amarillo, Texas, receives the NRCS National Rangeland Conservationist of the Year award from Dennis Thompson, left, NRCS national range and grazing land ecologist.

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