The UNLV Public Lands Initiative, in partnership with the Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Forest Service, National Park Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, has named Donna Grady to manage the Interagency Volunteer Program and George Phillips to head the Cultural Site Stewardship Program.

Both programs are a cooperative effort between the four federal agencies and are funded by the Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act of 1998.

The Interagency Volunteer Program integrates and coordinates volunteer recruitment, training and recognition for the four federal agencies involved in southern Nevada public lands management. The program is also developing a best practices model for long-term volunteer management.

The Cultural Site Stewardship Program is focused on conserving and preserving historical and cultural sites in Clark County, which are increasingly jeopardized by population growth and urban expansion. To date, many of these sites have not been studied scientifically or interpreted fully, and, once they are disturbed, their meaning and significance often are lost.

Grady comes to Public Lands Initiative from Maryland, where she was program director for MEDBANK of Maryland, Inc., a not-for-profit aimed at providing low-income seniors with affordable prescription drugs. At Medbank, Grady managed the AmeriCorps/VISTA and Retired and Senior Volunteer (RSVP) Programs and worked with a variety of social service agencies. "It's very important to me to contribute to the community, so I'm delighted to have this opportunity," said Grady. "The program has the potential to affect all of southern Nevada very positively and it's exciting to be part of the launch."

Phillips is a third generation Nevadan with extensive knowledge of the Mojave Desert environment and history. "I've always loved the desert that surrounds the city of Las Vegas," Phillips said. "The stories it tells are an important part of our collective history. It's a heritage we share with Native Americans, who bring different measures of value to the preservation task. It's my goal to approach the work of the Cultural Site Stewardship Program in a manner that's respectful of history, culturally inclusive, and understandable to all the groups that value preservation and conservation."

The Public Lands Initiative is a partnership between UNLV and the four federal agencies with land management responsibilities: the Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and U.S. Forest Service. This innovative partnership was formally established in April 2004 to implement cooperative projects through the Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act of 1998 that fit the university's educational and research strengths. The act specifies that a portion of the proceeds from federal land sales in southern Nevada be used for capital improvements, education and conservation initiatives on public lands.