The Dillon Ranger District was named the Ranger District of the Year, Dec. 20, at the Regional Forester’s Award ceremony hosted by the U.S. Forest Service Rocky Mountain Region.

The Dillon Ranger District on the White River National Forest was recognized for demonstrating leadership, teamwork, community connection, responsiveness to challenges, innovation, creativity, workforce vitality and morale, and resources stewardship.

The Dillon Ranger District is led by District Ranger Adam Bianchi. District employees consistently excel at managing the busy 300,000-acre district that welcomes 8.5 million visitors annually and is home to four downhill and two cross-country ski areas, two wilderness areas, three of Colorado’s famed Fourteeners, a 55,000-acre winter recreation area and one national monument.

Dillon Ranger District employees were also recognized with the Delivering Benefits to the Public award for strengthening communities and connecting people to the outdoors with their work on the Camp-Hale Continental Divide National Monument designation.

The U.S. Forest Service recognized the following employees with that award: Scott Fitzwilliams, Leanne Veldhuis, Bianchi, Paula Peterson, David Boyd, Roger Poirier, Marc Stamer, Thomas Fuller, Juan Dominguez, Steve Lohr, and Dana Guinn.

It typically takes nine to 12 months to sign a proclamation establishing a national monument, but this group was able to accomplish the work, including detailed inventory reporting and documentation, in just 8 weeks, the news release states.