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Helen Clough receives Jackie Diedrich Wild and Scenic Rivers Leadership Award

Helen Clough WSR Jackie Diedrich Wild and Scenic Rivers Leadership Award 2020

The River Management Society (RMS) is thrilled to congratulate our incredible RMS Secretary Helen Clough on reception of the Jackie Diedrich Wild and Scenic Rivers (WSR) Leadership Award from the Interagency Wild and Scenic Rivers Coordinating Council (IWSRCC) on December 17, 2020.

The Council’s Acting Chair Jennifer Beck, National Park Service, presented the award. The award recognizes river administering agency staff and former staff who have shown outstanding leadership in going above and beyond their assigned duties to help federal agencies protect and manage WSRs, build capacity for river stewardship and develop exemplary training programs for WSR professionals.

National WSR Logo

“Her dedication to sharing her vast professional experience with the next generation of river stewards is honorable and invaluable,” said Beck. “Helen has demonstrated outstanding leadership in her work to support river stewardship as secretary of the RMS National Board, often going well beyond her designated board duties to ensure that RMS meets the training needs of Wild and Scenic river managers throughout the country and throughout the system.”

Now retired, Helen dedicated nearly 40 years of service to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service. She has served as the RMS Symposium Program Chair and provided critical assistance to the RMS River Training Center, including leading efforts to coordinate with its instructor cadre, and effectively engaging with the IWSRCC Training Subcommittee.

Helen and Ketcher

“While sometimes progress is very slow or nonexistent, I think the river management community has come very far in a very short time,” said Clough. “I’m especially encouraged by what all we’ve accomplished this year in spite of the incredible challenges we faced both at work and at home. I’m really excited, and I don’t take much credit for it. Angie, Risa, Steve, Jennifer and a whole host of other people who’ve gotten the River Training Center really up and running, I think it’s doing incredible things. The State River Managers Group is coming together, and we’ve done this in spite of and maybe because of Covid. More people seem to be out there taking advantage of these resources because of Covid. And most importantly, all of you still in the trenches are there every day doing the best you can to take us forward. So I thank you very much for honoring me, and most of all, I thank you guys for what you do. I really appreciate it.”

Helen’s favorite river is the Black River in Alaska, followed by the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon.