From the Grand Junction Free Press (Sharon Sullivan):
Trainor was awarded “River Manager of the Year” by the River Management Society at a workshop held at Colorado Mesa University in Grand Junction March 12. The national nonprofit organization’s mission is to support professionals who study, protect and manage North America’s rivers. Its membership includes federal, state and local employees, educators, researchers, consultants, organizations and citizens.
The River Management Society honors those who show leadership in protecting natural, cultural and recreational resources, and who work cooperatively with various user groups and establish long-term partnerships to protect and manage river corridors. “The award is very special, as it is truly peer recognition,” from throughout the nation, said River Management Society president Dennis Willis of Price, Utah.
Trainor, 64, has been a member of the River Management Society for the past 15 years, and currently serves as its secretary. He was editor this past winter of the RMS Journal, for which he has written articles as well as poetry relating to water and the natural world…
A part of Trainor’s job with the city is ensuring that the Persigo Wastewater Treatment Plant discharges meet stringent standards. Trainor is also in charge of catching stormwater and removing trash and other debris from flowing back into the river. Additionally, Trainor works with the U.S. Forest Service, establishing water protection standards as it relates to oil and gas development in the city’s watershed…
Trainor serves on the Colorado River Basin Roundtable, representing municipalities where he helped produce a water and energy report that looked at projected water use of potential oil and gas, uranium, coal and oil shale development through 2050. “As a community we’re connected to the Gunnison and Colorado rivers not only from a utility/public works standpoint, but also more and more from a recreation-related standpoint,” Trainor said. “Those uses are as valid as traditional uses.”
Trainor additionally supports restoration activities along the river, including Tamarisk Coalition efforts to remove the water-hungry invasive species that has crowded out the native cottonwoods in some areas. “I spend time to ensure the Colorado River remains healthy, similar to the goals of the River Management Society,” Trainor said.