Former Yellowstone spokesperson honored for conservation

Former Colorado National Monument Superintendent and Yellowstone National Park spokesperson Joan Anzelmo has been honored by the National Parks Conservation Association for "her commitment to preserving the integrity and open access of the park for all visitors."

The National Parks Conservation Association gave Anzelmo its Stephen T. Mather Award -- named after the first director of the National Park Service -- on Friday. In giving the award, the environmental group specifically cited Anzelmo's December 2010 decision to prohibit a professional bicycling race from going through the Colorado National Monument.

Organizers and elected officials in Colorado had said the event would be an economic boon to the area; Anzelmo and Park Service Director Jon Jarvis said it would have gone against policy, adversely affected the monument and temporarily shut off access to the public.

"Her (Anzelmo's) actions in the last year at Colorado National Monument, in preventing the overt commercialization of the park by a privately-sponsored competition, despite personal attacks and political maneuvering, are merely the latest examples of her dedication to the principles the National Parks System is built upon,” said NPCA Southwest Regional Office Senior Director David Nimkin.

NPCA's senior vice president for government affairs, Craig Obey, said Anzelmo -- who retired in July after 35 years of park service --  is "exactly the type of person we want in charge of our national treasures."

"Throughout her career she remained focused on the proven policies and science that she knows are needed to retain the character and spirit of the National Park system for the future," Obey said.

Anzelmo previously served as chief of public affairs for Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks -- including acclaimed work during the 1988 Yellowstone fires. She later headed up public affairs for the entire National Park Service. Anzelmo also worked for the Park Service's unified area command in May 2010 following the BP oil spill.

Former Yellowstone National Park Superintendent Bob Barbee, who was Anzelmo's boss at the park, called her a top-flight professional.

"Her principled dedication to the values embodied in the national parks is unrivaled -- and when faced with pressures to compromise those values, Joan (Anzelmo) can be counted on to hold the line," Barbee said.

Anzelmo has received numerous awards, including from the Department of the Interior, honors in Congressional Record and in White House commendatory documents.

She called the NPCA's Stephen T. Mather Award the "honor of a lifetime"

"I am so grateful to have the National Parks Conservation Association as a steadfast partner and leader in helping to protect our nation's most precious natural and cultural resources and serve the vast visiting public to America's national parks," Anzelmo said.

She now lives in Jackson.