For 15 years, Mary has helped the AMWG’s highly diverse members reach consensus on a variety of highly complex scientific and technical issues, including monitoring protocols for native and non-native species, how to use dam operations to improve ecosystem processes, and management of archaeological sites, among others. AMWG, chaired by the Assistant Secretary of the Interior, Water and Science, is a federal advisory committee that advises the Secretary of the Interior how to improve the Grand Canyon ecosystem, primarily through the operation of the Glen Canyon Dam. It consists of 24 stakeholders with widely divergent interests and views, including representatives from federal agencies, states, Native American tribes, environmental organizations, recreational organizations, and distributors of hydropower generated at the dam.

Hualapai Tribe and Department of Interior – Boundary Dispute

Over the span of eight years, Mary assisted the Hualapai Tribe and the Department of the Interior to establish a cooperative partnership and concrete agreements for the management of 100 miles of Colorado River through the Grand Canyon, where the parties dispute the location of the boundary between them. The six parties to the negotiation were the Superintendent and Deputy Superintendent of Grand Canyon National Park and Lake Mead National Recreational Area, and the Chair and Vice-Chair of the Hualapai Tribe.

Park Facility Management Division, National Park Service

The Mary Orton Company was one of three firms chosen to serve the Park Facility Management Division (PFMD) of the National Park Service with facilitation and organization development services. For PFMD, Mary and her subcontractors have traveled throughout the country to facilitate meetings that include NPS staff from every region in the Service. They also facilitated meetings of the PFMD Management Team in Washington, DC. These projects involve designing (and often re-designing on the fly) meetings that will allow the groups to get their work done efficiently and pleasantly, as well as offering expert advice on management, leadership, and organizational issues.

Desert Research Institute – Workshop to Define Research Needs

Mary designed and managed a workshop for DRI, the environmental research arm of the Nevada System of Higher Education, at which more than 80 participants worked collectively to prioritize a vast selection of research needs in an efficient and timely manner. She trained several facilitators to assist with small group work, and then implemented interactive polling technology to allow the group to collect, document, and discuss real-time opinions in the plenary session. The results were used to make funding decisions for research needs among several federal agencies.

Grand Canyon National Park – Colorado River Management Plan Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)

Mary designed and managed public involvement for more than three years for a NEPA process that had been litigated twice before she began. The process resulted in the achievement of the Park’s public involvement and input goals. It also reduced contentiousness and increased trust among stakeholders and between stakeholders and the park. Though consensus among stakeholders was not a goal of the process, several major stakeholder groups – originally very much at odds with one another – presented a consensus proposal to the park, much of which was adopted in the Final EIS. The process included coast-to-coast scoping and Draft EIS meetings, two stakeholder workshops, and an expert panel that was open to the public.

Bureau of Land Management – Upper Las Vegas Wash.

Over 18 months, Mary designed and facilitated 10 meetings to provide input to the Bureau of Land Management regarding land that had been identified as suitable for sale, but that was rich in paleontological resources and an important habitat for two sensitive plant species. She identified and organized 13 stakeholder groups who participated in the meetings. The input informed BLM’s conservation strategy agreement and helped them decide on a supplemental EIS for the site.

Oregon Department of State Lands (DSL) – Remediation Rulemaking Advisory Committee (RRAC)

DSL convened the RRAC to develop a recommendation to the State Land Board on administrative rules for access to certain state lands for remediation and restoration activities. Mary identified and recruited members from 18 different stakeholder groups who were interested in the management of the state’s waterways. She interviewed them in advance of the first meeting, allowing her to incorporate stakeholders’ concerns into the process design. The group agreed by consensus on a proposal to take to the public for comment.

National Park Unit Management Team

With a combination of training, discussion, and individual and team coaching, Mary assisted this National Park Superintendent and his Management Team to improve team interactions and decision-making. Mary’s work with the Team led to increased collegiality and productivity that was documented by pre- and post-assessments. Over the course of a year, the Team also developed consensus on several agreements that helped them work better together, including Guidelines for Productive Group Interaction and a process review protocol. 

County Air Quality Department

For more than three years, Mary helped the Management Team of this County department increase its team effectiveness and performance. She assisted them with skills enhancement in decision-making, communication and communication styles, meeting management, leadership, and team building; and helped them to make difficult decisions with facilitation services. With her help, in quarterly retreats, they developed a vision, mission, and values, addressed issues raised in an organization assessment and climate survey, implemented performance metrics, developed a transition plan when the department head announced plans to leave, developed an operations handbook of SOPs, and revised the strategic plan, among other projects.

Agricultural Issues

Air Quality

Archeological, Historic Preservation

Border Issues

Boundary Disputes

Brownfields

Change Management

Coastal Zone Issues

Concessioner and Vendor Contracting

Cross-cultural Issues

Ecosystem Management

Endangered Species

Energy Issues

Environmental Enforcement and Permitting

Environmental Justice

Facility Management

Facility Siting

Federal Advisory Committee Act

Fire Management and Firefighting, Wildland

Fisheries

Floodplain

Forestry

Hazardous Waste

Hunting

Information Technology

Invasive Species

Irrigation Issues

Land Use, Growth Management, Sustainable Development

Law Enforcement

Native American Issues

Natural Resource Management

NEPA

Off-Highway Vehicles, Off-Road Vehicles

Pesticides, Toxic Substances

Private Property Rights

Public Health

Public Lands Issues

Recreational Use

Resource Management

Section 106 compliance

Solid Waste Issues

Superfund

Transportation: Highways

Traffic Management

Treaties

Urban Infrastructure (Utilities, Communication Facilities, Sewage, etc.)

Wastewater Treatment

Water Management/Allocation/Rights

Water Quality/River Basins

Watershed Management/Planning

Wildlife Issues