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Vernon County Solid Waste Administrator Gail Frie was honored by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources for his work in the solid waste industry and his volunteer efforts locally to clean up the environment.

Frie received the "West Central Wisconsin Resources Award" at a ceremony at the Viking Inn on Tuesday, May 13.

Among those presenting the award were Scott Humrickhouse, director DNR west central region, and Dave Lundberg, DNR waste and materials supervisor. The award was given to Frie because of a number of projects he has either spearheaded or assisted with during the last 15 years. Among the projects, Frie was cited for his leadership on Mississippi River and Kickapoo River cleanups, a deer carcass collection program, numerous waste site cleanup projects and redevelopment projects including Paul's Amoco in De Soto and the Readstown Creamery.

According to the DNR West Central Public Affairs manager Ed Culhane, Frie has volunteered countless hours to the river cleanup project and provided resources to dispose of waste collected by volunteers. Culhane said Frie has spent numerous Saturdays volunteering his time to dispose of over 1,546 plastic 55 gallon drums collected from pools seven and eight on the Mississippi. Culhane said the effort has had a huge impact on the image of one the areas biggest resources.

Culhane said the deer carcass collection program is the only one of its kind in the state and has been featured in a number of outdoor magazines. According to the DNR, the program collected over 47 tons of dear carcass waste in 2006 alone. Local DNR conservation warden Shawna Stringham compliments Frie's efforts, saying, "It's important to note Gail was not asked to sponsor this program. Rather, as in so many other examples, he saw a need and took action to solve the problem."

Culhane said the sawmill wood waste cleanup project is another example of Frie's initiative. Culhane said Frie managed to use limited DNR grant money to develop beneficial reuse markets for the waste and get cooperation among the Amish community to create a long-term solution to the problem of wood waste.

Culhane said Frie has been a part of or led the way on a number of cleanup projects that turned "brownfield" or blighted sites into usable, developable property. Culhane said Frie provided guidance for the county to take over the Westby dry cleaner property and apply for grant money to do assessment and cleanup work.

Frie provided similar leadership to the Readstown Creamery cleanup including asbestos assessment and cleanup that resulted in a property that is now ready for redevelopment. Frie provided similar assistance to the Village of De Soto to help cleanup the former "Paul's Amoco" site and the result is a site that is cleaned up and ready for development.

Lundberg, in presenting the award, said he is sometimes is surprised at the number of projects Frie is involved in, including his recent effort to bring a mediation process to the city of Viroqua to help solve neighborhood disputes.

"You have been probably been called an activist for some of your work and that's all right," said Lundberg. "That isn't a dirty word and we are all called on sometimes in this country to do those kinds of things that need to be done. Gail is one of those rare people that doesn't just talk or complain about the issues. He actually gets in there and gets to work and gets things taken care of.

Lundberg said Frie works in the same spirit as so many other activists that have led in Wisconsin like Gaylord Nelson and Aldo Leopold.

"Gail you are me hero, my colleague and my mentor and my friend," said Lundberg.

The award given to Frie reads "We honor you for your innovative solutions and tireless efforts on behalf of the natural world that sustains us all; for cleaning up rivers, restoring contaminated sites and creating the annual deer carcass collection program; for taking on the problem of open burning of sawmill waste; and for being the admirable individual known to the Amish as "the government man who works."

In accepting the award Frie said it has been a "fun ride" and the work he has done has only been possible because of his family and support from others he works with in and out of government.

"All I can say is thank you," said Frie.

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