The WSDOT Cultural Resources Program annually honors a project, an individual, and a local agency with a Stewardship Award. Honorees have excelled in:

	The Fremont Bridge in Seattle, showing mitigation measures that help retain the bridge's historic character.

• Preserving or mitigating effects to historic properties,
• Managing cultural resources work on large, complex projects, or
• Consulting with Native American tribes, state and federal agencies, and the public.

The Cultural Resources Program and the Environmental Services Office thank the award recipients for their excellent work and dedication.

Fall 2008 CRP Stewardship Award Winners

Individual Award: Claton Belmont, WSDOT North Central Region

Claton's excellence working with tribes is a credit to WSDOT, and has greatly assisted our projects. Due to his record of transparency and honesty, he has an excellent rapport with tribes in the region.

Claton is also a great liaison between his region's cultural resources staff and the project offices, ensuring that recommendations reach the right ears. He is also proactive about making sure that recommendations get followed through construction.

Local Agency Award: City of Seattle Department of Transportation

The City of Seattle's Department of Transportation (SDOT) is honored for their mitigation work on the Fremont Bridge Project. The project required removal of the bridge's approaches and historic trolley poles. To mitigate for the adverse effect to the National Register-eligible bridge, SDOT completed Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) documentation for the bridge.

In addition, SDOT developed creative mitigation that included an interpretive panel on the history of the Fremont Bridge as well as the incorporation of the salvaged historic trolley poles in the new bridge design. SDOT's mitigation provided necessary documentation of the historic bridge in addition to producing a historically aesthetic design for the public.

Project Award: The Interstate 405 Corridor Program

The I-405 Corridor program faces a number of cultural resources challenges, including the need to develop a complex Section 106 Programmatic Agreement. They've responded with professionalism and enthusiasm.

The program is committed to quality Section 106 documentation and meaningful tribal consultation, as well as clear and open communication with the cultural resources staff.

The environmental team, including the NEPA documentation staff and the environmental inspectors in the field, are a credit to WSDOT.