Libby Dam operation earns national recognition

Libby Dam project manager Mick Shea first learned that his crew won a national award when he stepped off a plane in Spokane, Wash., and checked his voicemail.

It didn’t sink in, though, until he heard the news formally. That’s when he had to pinch himself.

“Libby (Dam) is a remote project and it doesn’t get a lot of visibility nationally,” Shea said. “I can tell you that what the employees do here they do very well and that is what gained them well-deserved recognition.”

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers last month announced Libby Dam the 2009 Natural Resources Management Project of the Year out of what Shea estimates to be 400-500 Corps projects throughout the country.

Made up of 39 full-time employees, the Libby Dam staff received recognition for team achievement, innovative ideas and stewardship of the project’s resources.

When Libby Dam became the first Corps project in the country to become compliant with new stringent environmental standards, the Corps began to take a close look into the staff’s method of tackling problems.

“Libby Dam’s model became a working template for the rest of the Corps,” Shea said. “Those are the kinds of things that got the attention of people at headquarters.”

Libby Dam also received national attention for innovative ideas such as the Eagle Cam, a surveillance camera of an eagle nest that is available to view online.

“The Eagle Cam,” Shea explained, “was an employee-level idea. It was the employees that figured out how to make it happen very cost-effectively.”

The award was presented this month to Col. Anthony Wright, Seattle District commander, at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Senior Leaders Conference in Florida.

It recognizes the staff for being on the cutting edge.

“The dedicated employees have cultivated a team approach to problem solving that pulls in the best ideas at the working level,” it reads. “From environmental compliance to partnering, from public safety to stakeholder involvement, Libby Dam serves as a leader.”

The Libby Dam staff manages nearly 2,000 acres of land. Employees strive to balance the needs of wildlife while also providing hydropower, flood risk management and water for recreation.