Featured Wyoming Employee Vignette

Featured Volunteer:  Al Lopez
Job Title/Location:  Civil Engineering Technician, Cheyenne, Wyoming
Date:  March 2008

Meet Al Lopez

Offering alternatives for natural resource management

Conservation is important to me because in this fast-paced world that we live in, we often overlook, or take for granted, the foundation of our lifestyles.  It all started with a rich abundance of natural resources.  If we don’t take care of our natural resources, we as a society won’t have a means to continue that lifestyle that we enjoy.

Though not all can be blamed on mankind, it’s a tragedy to hear about people not being able to raise crops or to not have the use of a good supply of water because resources haven’t been taken care of or have been depleted.

In this profession we are helping others do just that; apply conservation management and practices to help others look after our resources that are within their control. I enjoy working through NRCS to help producers do that; knowing that the agency is well known for having the knowledge and capability to apply those measures by providing the best available assistance possible in a timely manner.

Because of having been raised on a ranch, I particularly enjoy coming up with alternatives and designing practices for people to apply and better their situations. It gives you a good feeling when someone thanks you and states to you that they are glad they did the project.

I would like to think that I did my small part by providing technical assistance that is timely and proficient, in order for producers to carry out their part in the conservation of our resources.