Spring Creek Basin Mustangs

United States Department of Interior
Honor Award
Michael L Jensen
is hereby awarded this certificate of honor for Superior Service

For … the certificate doesn’t specifically mention … his outstanding work for the mustangs of Spring Creek Basin Herd Management Area. It’s been a long time coming – at least three years since we started trying to get some kind of BLM award to recognize Mike for his – literally – superior service and partnership.

We advocates had a small celebration for him a few years ago during an informal gathering of ourselves and Mike and his wife, Shawna (a Forest Service hydrologist), but it was really satisfying to see Mike recognized among his peers at a BLM meeting this week in Mancos. Stephanie Connolly, BLM Colorado’s Southwest District manager, also was in attendance (and took the above pic). Derek Padilla, our new Tres Rios Field Office manager, led the meeting (which wasn’t about awards until the end), and it was Joe Manning (pictured above at left), assistant TRFO manager, who introduced the award and Mike.

As Joe said, the wild horse and burro situation is “thorny,” and it is that and more. We’ve had our own challenges in Spring Creek Basin with (very much) less than “superior” service (!). Mike has smoothed out the rough edges and been a partner in every sense since his return to the herd’s helm almost (?) 10 years ago.

Mike is retiring this summer after 30 years with BLM – most of those spent in Dolores at what is now called Tres Rios Field Office. In the pic above, yours truly is grinning like a fool because 1) I was so happy for Mike to get this recognition, and 2) I was trying not to cry (which, as anyone who knows me can attest, even if they weren’t there, I completely failed to NOT do).

Mike says we’ll be OK – and we WILL be. Because of his leadership and vision in getting projects done such as the two new water catchments and his diligent work at updating our herd management area plan, which is stellar among such things. I’m not gonna miss him until I have to miss him (he laughs when I say (repeatedly) that I’m going to chain him to the cattle guard at the basin’s entrance so we don’t lose him), and I will write more later, but damn, I’m going to miss him.

Congrats, Mike. Your service IS superior, and we all are grateful for it.

Thanks to Stephanie Connolly, Derek Padilla, Joe Manning and, of course, Mike Jensen.

In attendance (Mike is pointing them out in the pic above) were VERY long-time (since the 1990s) volunteers and supporters of Spring Creek Basin mustangs Pat and Frank Amthor (who traveled from their home in New Mexico), and Kat Wilder, author of Desert Chrome and neighbor of the mustangs. Tif Rodriquez, another long-time supporter, advocate AND adopter of Spring Creek Basin mustangs Whisper and Asher (and other mustangs), unfortunately was feeling awful and wasn’t able to attend. (Thank you so much, Joe, for letting us know about Mike’s award so we could be there to support HIM!)