The Bureau of Reclamation’s Four Corners Field Office recently awarded Lalena Weasel a Safety Certificate of Completion honoring her for 20 years of service.
“Safety is a way of life … you get up and go to work with ten toes, ten fingers, two legs, two arms and you’re healthy; that’s the way you want to return to your family,” Weasel said. “I implement that every day for myself and my people.”
Lalena Weasel is once again being recognized for her high standards of safety in the field, where she works with the Bureau of Reclamation in New Mexico as the Materials Engineer Technician on the Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project. Weasel also recently celebrated her twentieth anniversary as a federal employee, a position she has excelled at for the past two decades.
Weasel got her start in the field when construction of the Animas La Plata (ALP) project became a reality in the spring of 2003. Weasel was then able to use that opportunity to transition into a full-time position on a large-scale water project, dubbed the Navajo-Gallup water supply line, under the Bureau of Reclamation. The project opened four positions in 2011, which were available to tribal members from the Ute Mountain Ute and Southern Ute Indian Tribes; Weasel has ties to each tribe. She also shined in her years working with ALP, garnering numerous safety awards during her years on the project — including Safety Employee of the Year in 2009.
The Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project — once complete, will deliver water to the communities in the eastern section of the Navajo Nation, southwestern portion of the Jicarilla Apache Nation, and the city of Gallup, N.M., by way of roughly 300 miles of pipeline — transporting water from the San Juan River to those communities. The project also includes the construction of numerous pumping plants and water treatment facilities along the pipeline.
These types of projects require a significant amount of travel and fieldwork, and thus require an aptitude for safety and precaution, which Weasel instills into her team’s work ethic, directly resulting in this year’s safety award from the Bureau of Reclamation.
“For me, safety is a culture,” Weasel said. She attributed most job site accidents to driving and speeding, while also stating that communication is key, “stop and ask where you are going to be that day, make sure your PPE is up to standard and always make eye contact on the job site.”
“We are incredibly proud of Lalena and her accomplishments, as well as other Four Corners Construction Office employees, with safely performing her work as a materials lab technician for Reclamation for the past 20-years in what can be a dangerous field and industry,” said Bart Deming, Construction Engineer for the Four Corners Construction Office and Acting Area Manager for the Western Colorado Area Office.
“Her work is mostly outdoors in the field around heavy equipment. She carries heavy tools in and out of trenches to perform her work and often times drives long distances to and from the jobsites. During the 20 years of service, Lalena has not had any accidents and continues to work safely. Her efforts are reflected in this award.”