During their 57th Annual Meeting, the Public Lands Council (PLC) honored two individuals who have made significant contributions to the federal lands ranching community. PLC Secretary and Colorado grazing permittee Robbie LeValley was selected for the 2025 President’s award and Dr. Karen Launchbaugh, a professor at the University of Idaho, was selected as the 2025 Friend of PLC.
PLC President Tim Canterbury recognized PLC Treasurer Brenda Richards, who runs a cow-calf operation in Reynolds Creek, Idaho, for her outstanding leadership on the local, state, and national levels. As a fourth-generation rancher in the state, Richards has set the standard for Colorado ranching. When she’s not working on the ranch, she volunteers her time with several different livestock industry organizations. She volunteers her time to the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, Idaho Cattle Association, Nevada Cattlemen’s Association, and Boise’s District Bureau of Land Management Resource Advisory Council.
“When I started to attend national industry meetings Brenda was already an established leader and had been effectively fighting for our industry for years. From testifying in Congress, leading PLC and working on ranching issues – grazing permittees are all better off because of her leadership,” said PLC President Tim Canterbury. “Spending time away from the operation can be costly but her work to cut government red tape is essential to advancing this industry. There is no one more deserving of the President’s award and I am proud to serve with her as a PLC Officer.”
PLC Vice President Ron Cerri recognized Dr. Karen Launchbaugh as the 2025 Friend of PLC. Dr. Launchbaugh has worked as Professor of Rangeland Ecology at the University of Idaho, providing ranchers with the latest research on grazing and rangeland management as well as educating the next the generation on the benefits of grazing. Her immense research and teaching career has advanced rangeland education further than anyone and her work studying livestock behavior while grazing has been hugely beneficial for ranchers and students alike.
“The Friend of PLC award is for the rare individuals, that while they may not be ranchers, they advance the ranching industry to that next level. Dr. Karen Launchbaugh is not only a great friend to grazing permittees, but she is also a friend and mentor to students looking to work in the field of rangeland and ecological research,” said PLC Vice President Ron Cerri. “Livestock producers owe so much to Dr. Launchbaugh for her work advocating for and advancing this industry – whenever a rancher says science-based, chances are it is because of her work that we get to definitively say that. Future generations of ranchers will learn from her extensive work on rangeland and grazing research, becoming better ranchers because of it and that is a true friend to the ranching industry.”
