Richard I. & Lela M. Barnhisel Reclamation Researcher of the Year Award
The Richard I. and Lela M. Barnhisel Reclamation Researcher of the Year award recognizes substantial contributions to the advancement of reclamation science and technology through scientific research.
Kenton Sena
Nominated by Richard Barnhisel
Kenton Sena holds a B.A. in Biology from Asbury University, and an M.S. in Forestry and Ph.D. in Integrated Plant and Soil Sciences from the University of Kentucky. He is currently a lecturer in the Lewis Honors College at the University of Kentucky, where he teaches the Honors Foundations Seminar “Knowledge and Society,” as well as honors courses in ecology and such as “Restoration Ecology,” “Appalachian Natural History,” and “The Ecology of Middle earth.” His research interests involve reclamation and restoration of sites affected by mining and urbanization. Dr Sena has published multiple research articles in proceedings and journals that have influenced the fields of reclamation ecology and sustainability. He currently is specializing in the reclamation of urban disturbances to better the culture and living experiences of many individuals. He lives and gardens with his wife and two children in Lexington, KY.
2012
2009
2005
2003
- Dr. Michael Collins, University of Kentucky
2002
- Dr. Terrence J. Toy, University of Denver
2001
- Dr. Lloyd R. Hossner, Texas A. & M. University
2000
- Mr. Martin Y.P. Fung, Syncrude Canada Ltd., AB, Canada
1999
- Dr. Jeffrey G. Skousen, West Virginia University
1998
- Dr. George Vance, University of Wyoming
1997
- Dr. Stephan A. Schroeder, No. Dakota Public Service Commission
1996
- Mr. Jack Nawrot, Southern Illinois University
1995
- Dr. Gary Halvorson, North Dakota State University
1994
- Mr. Terry M. Macyk, Alberta Research Council
1993
- Dr. W. Lee Daniels, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
1992
- Dr. Frank F. Munshower, Montana State University
1991
- Dr. Gerald E. Schuman, Agricultural Research Service
1990
- Ms. Patricia M. Erickson, U.S. Bureau of Mines
1989
- Dr. Richard I. Barnhisel, University of Kentucky
1988
- Dr. Edward J. DePuit, University of Wyoming
1987
- Mr. Thomas G. Zarger, Tennessee Valley Authority (Deceased)
1986
- Mr. Willis G. Vogel, U.S. Forest Service (Retired)
1985
- Dr. Richard M. Smith, West Virginia University (Retired)
1984
- Dr. Ronald E. Ries, Agriculture Research Service
Reclamationist of the Year Award
The Reclamationist of the Year award recognizes individuals demonstrating outstanding accomplishments in the practical application or evaluation of reclamation technology. It also rewards individuals responsible for implementing innovative practices or designs for new reclamation strategies.
Marie Shepherd
Nominated by Jennifer Schlotthauer
Marie Shepherd is a Navajo born and raised in Ganado, Arizona on the Navajo Nation. She attended Ganado High School and went to college at the University of Arizona in Tucson, Arizona where she received a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering. In 2002, she received a Master of Arts in Organizational Management from the University of Phoenix while working at Chevrons’ McKinley Mine. She is a registered Professional Engineer in the States of New Mexico and Arizona. She is currently Senior Manager at Peabody’s Kayenta Mine and responsible for all Environmental Department functions including supporting field reclamation activities, compliance work, regulatory oversight, and managing the environmental monitoring program. She works closely with the regulatory authority’s onsite inspection, compliance, bond releases and monitoring programs. Along her career path she has mentored several young engineers.
In the height of Kayenta’s reclamation, she managed to reclaim about 400 acres per year over a 5-year period. She has integrated geomorphic concepts into reclamation plans, and because of this effort, Peabody’s Kayenta Mine received the 2019 OSMRE National Reclamation Award. This award recognized not only integrated geomorphic concepts but also tied in Peabody’s unique cultural planting program. These practices result in a sustainable landform for the Navajo Nation to use. She manages the annual grazing program which the local community participates in utilizing the reclaimed lands for grazing. As a rancher herself she understands using grazing as a best management practice. Delivering a sustainable product to the Navajo Nation by restoring mother earth aligns with her values and beliefs.
2015
2012
2011
2008
2007
2005
- Mr. William R. Kirk, Coteau Properties Co., ND
2004
- Mr. Scott E. Belden, Powder River Coal Co., Gillette, WY
2003
- Mr. Clint Skilbred, Glenrock Coal Co. Glenrock, WY
2002
- Ms. Margaret H. Dunn, Stream Restoration, Inc., Cranberry Twp., PA
- Ms. Laurel E. Vicklund,, Belle Ayr Mine, Gillette, WY
2001
- Mr. Tim Ramsey, BHP World Minerals, La Plata Mine, La Plata, NM
2000
- Mr. Reginald Hoff, Big Sky Coal, Peabody, Colstrip, MT
1998
- Mr. Wayne R. Erickson, Habitat Management, Inc.
1997
- Mr. Stuart A. Bengson, ASARCO Inc., Copper Operations, AZ
1996
- Mr. Darryl Maunder, Kerr-McGee Coal Company
1995
- Mr. Brent Gray, Peabody Coal Company
1994
- Mr. Dave Nilson, Basin Electric Power Cooperative
1993
- Mr. Robert Moore, Thunder Basin Coal Company
1992
- Dr. David S. Ralston, Amax Coal Company
1990
- Mr. David C. Porterfield, Carbon Coal Company
1989
- Mr. Dwight Hicks, Drumond Coal Company
1988
- Mr. Jack A. Muncy, Tennessee Valley Authority
1987
- Dr. Thomas H. Peters, International Metals (Retired)
1986
- Mr. Kenneth Spurlock, Kentucky Reclamation Association (Retired)
1985
- Mr. Alten F. Grandt, Peabody Coal Company (Retired)
1984
- Mr. James White, Pioneer Fuel Company (Retired)
Early Career Award
This award is intended to recognize an early career member of ASRS that is involved in reclamation research, teaching, and/or on-the-ground reclamation practices within academics, regulatory oversite or in an industry position.
The nominee must have been employed in their field for a minimum of three years but not more than ten years
Travis Tasker
Nominated by Julie Labar
Dr. Travis Tasker is an Assistant Professor in Environmental Engineering at Saint Francis University. He received a Biology and Environmental Science dual B.S. from Allegheny College in 2013 and a PhD in Environmental Engineering from Penn State University in 2018. In addition to teaching Environmental Engineering courses at Saint Francis University, Dr. Tasker directs the Center for Watershed Research and Service (also known as the CWRS) which strives to assist nonprofit organizations, government agencies, and consulting companies on watershed restoration efforts. Since becoming director of the CWRS, Dr. Tasker has led and collaborated on multiple research, service, and technical service projects with a focus on water reclamation and resource recovery. Currently, Dr. Tasker and the CWRS are assisting collaborators with mass balance analyses, water sampling campaigns, and reclamation plans for several mine contaminated watersheds in Pennsylvania. Dr. Tasker is also involved in many outreach campaigns through the CWRS, including working with local high schools to educate their students on mine reclamation and hosting a water reclamation summer academy at Saint Francis University for high school students. Overall, Dr. Tasker’s career efforts focus heavily on mitigating the impacts of legacy mining and educating others on how we can all contribute to preserving Earth’s valuable resources.
William T. Plass Award
This award is the highest honor the Society has and recognizes those in research, teaching, outreach, and administration. The award is given to a person who has distinguished themselves in the field of disturbed ecosystem reclamation at the local, regional, national, and international levels.
Gwendelyn Geidel
Nominated by Michele Coleman
Gwendelyn Geidel, PhD, JD, is a hydrogeologist currently working with mine tailings reclamation and is an environmental attorney focusing on contamination and water quality in the context of land management, reclamation, and utilization. Gwen is an Affiliate faculty member and a Distinguished Research Professor Emerita in the School of the Earth, Ocean, and Environment (SEOE) at the University of South Carolina. After obtaining her PhD in Geology, she began her career in the Department of Geology at USC focused on the prediction and prevention of water quality impacts from coal and metal mining in the US and internationally, which led to not only interesting research questions but legal issues as well. In 1989, she graduated from the USC School of Law and practiced environmental law in Columbia, SC. When the USC School of the Environment (SOE) was formed in 1994, she returned to USC as the Associate Dean of the SOE until 2006, when it was merged into the College of Arts and Science. While at USC she taught earth resource management and sustainability classes and advised numerous graduate and undergraduate research students through field and laboratory research efforts. She continues her research and consulting related to the remediation of ground and surface water contamination caused by mining and other anthropogenic disturbances and the development of sustainable reclamation practices for improved vegetative, soil and water quality. Her research has been supported by industry, and various state and federal government agencies with the goal of improving our understanding of water rock interactions and their impacts on reclamation practices. She has published numerous articles and book chapters and is active in community organizations including the SC Central Midlands Council of Government environmental committee, and Gills Creek Watershed Association. She has also served on several national committees and forums, including the Global Council for Science and the Environment’s (GCSE) University Leaders and, within ASRS, she has served on the NEC, Scholarship Committee and was President in 2018-19.
2013
- Dr. Neil Humphries, Blakemere Consultants Ltd
2011
2009
2006
2005
2004
- Dr. Robert Kleinmann, U.S. Dept. of Energy, NETL, PA
2003
- Dr. John C. Sencindiver, University of West Virginia
2002
- Dr. Ronald E. Ries, U.S.D.A.—ARS (Retired)
2001
- Mr. Richard L. White, Texas Utilities, Dallas, TX
2000
- Dr. James A. Burger, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA
1999
- Mr. Joe D. Friedlander, Coteau Properties, ND
1998
- Dr. Gerald L. Lowry, Stephen F. Austin College (Retired)
1997
- Dr. James De Ment, Consultant
1996
- Mr. Alten Grandt, Peabody Coal Co. (Retired)
1993
- Dr. Frank T. Caruccio, University of South Carolina
1992
- Dr. William E. Sopper, Pennsylvania State University
1991
- Dr. William C. Ashby, Southern Illinois University
1990
- Mr. Benjamin C. Greene, West Virginia Mining & Reclamation Assoc.
Distinction in Reclamation Award
This award recognizes a specific project in which a company has demonstrated excellence in reclamation design, implementation, and overall success, resulting in the conservation of natural resources and the ecosystem.
Quapaw Nation Environmental Department
Nominated by Robert Nairn
Over a half‐century of underground mining and surface milling operations in northeast Oklahoma produced more than 500 million tons of mining waste containing elevated zinc, lead, and cadmium concentrations. As a result, the Tar Creek Superfund Site was placed on the US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) National Priorities List (NPL) in 1983, shortly after the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) was passed. For decades, however, these massive chat piles sat relatively undisturbed on the reservation lands of the Quapaw Nation. In 2012, the Quapaw Nation Environmental Office, along with its construction department Quapaw Services Authority (QSA) commenced remedial action activities at the Catholic 40 site, a former Catholic mission on tribal land.
Based on the exemplary results of an initial pilot project at the Catholic 40 site, the Quapaw Nation and QSA now lead both federal (US EPA) efforts on tribal trust lands and state (Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality, ODEQ) efforts on non‐tribal lands. They are the first tribal nation in the United States to lead Superfund remediation and reclamation effort within their own tribal boundaries. To date, the Quapaw Nation has removed more than six million tons of contaminated mine tailings and returned more than 600 acres to productive use.
Pioneer of Reclamation Award
This award is presented to an individual that has had significant impact and influence in the field of environmental science and reclamation relating to disturbed ecosystems over their entire career.
Patrick Angel
Nominated by Kenton Sena
Dr. Patrick Angel, a native of eastern Kentucky, had been employed by United States Department of Interior, Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE) in London, Kentucky. His career with the federal government spanned more than 42 years of service. Prior to his tenure with OSMRE, Patrick worked for the Kentucky Division of Reclamation and the University of Kentucky, training Surface Mine Reclamation Technicians and the first group of federal inspectors hired to implement and enforce SMCRA in 1978. Patrick is a graduate of Stephen F. Austin State University with a BS and MS in Forestry and a graduate of the University of Kentucky with a Ph.D. in Soil Science. The focus of his studies was the reforestation of surface mines. During much of the last half of his 42-year service with the federal government, Dr. Angel served as the Senior Forester and Soil Scientist for OSMRE where he was very active with the Appalachian Regional Reforestation Initiative. Patrick is a co-founder with Dr. Chris Barton with the University of Kentucky of the non-profit conservation organization called Green Forests Work (GFW). GFW focuses on restoring ecosystem services on mine-scarred lands and creating green jobs in the process. Since his retirement from the federal government in 2020, Patrick is continuing his work with GFW planting trees on abandoned surface mines and organizing volunteer tree planting projects across Appalachia. Angel is also operating a 100-acre sheep farm west of London, KY and has an apiary with a 100-hive capacity. He produces honey and high-quality lean lamb. Recently, Patrick created a non-profit called the Southeast Kentucky Sheep Producers Association, Inc., (SEKSPA). A major project of SEKSPA under Patrick’s direction is to conduct a three-year ‘Proof of Concept’ project that demonstrates productivity and financial viability of large-scale small ruminant enterprises on reclaimed coal surface mines in Central Appalachia. The economics of utilizing the vast acreage of unused and unmanaged hay and pastureland can be profitable and is beneficial to a healthy and sustained ecosystem.
Bryan Hansen
Nominated by Jennifer Schlotthauer
Bryan Hansen has spent his whole life in the state of Wyoming while earning a BS degree in Wildlife Management from the University of Wyoming. After a 2-year stint with the Wyoming State Game and Fish department, he hired on with Peabody’s North Antelope Rochelle Mine as an environmental specialist. Over the next 33 years he progressed into the Environmental Manager for the United States largest surface coal mine with over 32,000 acres of disturbance and more than 14,300 acres of permanently reclaimed ground. This daunting task has many environmental challenges that requires forward thinking and innovation in reclamation practices. Bryan led the way in advancing several reclamation practices that resulted in close to 7500 acres of final bond release in a semi-arid ecosystem to date. The practices he initiated are still used today to continue to have successful final bond release packages submitted to the State of Wyoming. Bryan always encouraged knowledge transfer and the use of best management practices to better the field of mine land reclamation. NARM has received many national and state awards under Bryan’s management including OSMRE Excellence in Reclamation National Award in 2012 and the 2020 WY State Department of Environmental Quality- Excellence in Reclamation award to name a few. After retirement in February of 2023, he continues to push for excellence in the recovery of ecological disturbances and plans to continue to share in his experiences. He also enjoys the outdoors in Wyoming with his family while camping and fishing.
Neil Humphries
Nominated by Jeff Skousen
Dr Humphries has shown outstanding leadership in reclamation ecology and research while focusing on soil ecology in the reclamation of disturbed ecosystems in the mining industries throughout the United Kingdom. Dr. Humphries education started a long career (50 years) in the development and research of reclamation practices which can be summarized as management, restoration, and re-creation of soil-based ecosystems and biodiversity after drastic disturbances. Dr Humphries received his BS from University of Exeter, his BA from Cambridge University, and his Ph.D. from the University of Liverpool. Activities by his companies always have maintained high standards to ensure that the reclamation and research on soils and agricultural use of disturbed sites be carried out in a meaningful manner. Dr Humphries and his associates always maintained a desire to make sure that others could benefit from their experiences. Dr Humphries first published articles in the Proceedings of ASSMR in 1994 and has since publish more than 18 articles in other ASMR and ASRS proceedings and multiple articles in JASMR. Dr Humphries has sought cutting edge technology and practices to find practical and meaningful advancements in the reclamation of disturbed ecosystems. His outstanding reclamation practices and research has led to a large array of honors and awards from ASRS including the William T Plass award in 2013 and the Richard and Lela Barnhisel Researcher of the Year award in 2020. Congratulations Dr Humphries on another outstanding honor for your dedication to, and your experience with reclamation ecology.
2005
- Terry Macyk
- Martin Fung
2004
- Sy Brayley
- Ben Green
- Jarvis Harper
- Sam Lyle
- Jack Muncy
- Jim Sandusky
2003
- Stuart A. Bengson
- James A. Brown
- Larry F. Brown
- Ray W. Brown
- C. Wayne Cook
- Alton D. Day
- Eugene E. Farmer
- Thomas Gwynn
- Rodney R. Krause
- Gerald Lowry
- Kenneth L. Ludeke
- Frank F. Munshower
- Ed Pommerenning
- Paul Rokich
- Ed Temple
- John Thames
2002
- Richard I. Barnhisel
- William A. Berg
- James F. Boyer, Jr.
- Kenes Bowling
- Frank T. Carruccio
- Willy Curtis
- Jimmy Dean
- Samuel Dickinson
- David Funk
- Alten F. Grandt
- Willard D. Klimstra
- Thomas H. Peters
- Joe Ruffner
- Stephen G. Shetron
- Richard Meriwether Smith
- Shawn T. Sorrell
- Willis Vogel
- Tom Zarger
2001
- Earl Alden
- Robert G. Beverly
- Stephen G. Boyce
- W.C. Bramble
- A. G. Chapman
- Bryan F. Clark
- John Crowl
- W. C. Croxton
- Karl C. Dean
- Dan DenUyl
- Glenn Deitschmann
- Dean Eisinphar
- Louis E. Engstrom
- Raymond Finn
- Frank Glover
- Richard C. Havens
- Tom Higgins
- Ron Hill
- Richard Hodder
- Bob Hughes
- Lyle Knutson
- John F. Knudsen
- Gus Limstrom
- Harith Loqua
- James H. Lundy
- A. L. McComb
- Robert W. Merz
- Rex F. Neilson
- H. B. Peterson
- Bland Z. Richardson
- Charles V. Riley
- Nelson Rogers
- Don Russell
- L. E. Sawyer
- Paul N. Seastrom
- Monte B. Shirts
- C. A. "Tony" Sjogren
- Paul Sutton
- E. H. Tyner
- John P. Vimmerstedt
- Louis Weber
1999
- Paul Borden
- Mike Coats
- Jesse Mitchell
1998
- William T. Plass
1997
- Clark Ashby