County Commissioner Robinson receives the Dale Sowards Award

Lesley Robinson, Phillips County Commissioner was awarded the Dale Sowards Award at the National Association of Counties Western Interstate Region meeting in Jackson Hole, Wyo. The Dale Sowards Award is to recognize individuals who have demonstrated outstanding service to public lands counties and to draw attention to the individual's accomplishments and the public policies they represent.

The award was named after former Conejos County, CO, Commissioner Dale Sowards, who was instrumental in the creation of the Western Interstate Region, and was a longtime advocate for public land counties. Commissioner Sowards was also instrumental in the creation of the PILT program to reimburse counties for non-taxable federal lands.

Commissioner Robinson is the fourth Montana Commissioner to be recognized with the Dale Sowards Award. She joins former Lincoln County Commissioner Noel Williams, former McCone County Commissioner, Connie Eissinger and Lewis and Clark County Commissioner Mike Murray.

Commissioner Robinson's dedication to public land issues is evident. She has worked tirelessly as a problem solver and consensus builder to bring stakeholders together to resolve local, regional, and national issues.

Commissioner Robinson was appointed to the NACo Public Lands Steering Committee and Western Interstate Region Board of Directors and rose to leadership positions within both entities. In 2012 she was elected as WIR 2nd Vice President, serving as president in 2014. She has also served as Vice-Chair of the NACo Public Lands Steering Committee for 3 years and Chair of the Federal Lands Management Subcommittee, testified at House Natural Resource hearings, and conducted numerous Hill visits. Currently, Commissioner Robinson is serving as NACo's Western Region Representative.

Throughout her years on the WIR Board and as a member of the NACo Public Lands Steering Committee, she has been an active participant, working diligently to bring differing perspectives to the table to assure that issues are well-vetted before decisions are made.

She has a love for the West and its heritage, and the best interest of the West is her first priority.