Photo By Kaylee Wendt | U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and New York State Department of Environmental...... read more read more
BUFFALO, N.Y. — Maggie Crawford, a biologist with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Buffalo District, has been named the recipient of the Don Lawyer Award for Regulator of the Year, recognizing her contributions to the Corps of Engineers Regulatory Program and her work on some of the region’s most complex projects.
The Don Lawyer Award recognizes superior achievement by a non-supervisory regulatory employee and contributions to maintaining the integrity of the regulatory program. Established in 1984, the award honors employees who demonstrate superior public service and commitment to the Army Corps of Engineers regulatory mission of protecting the nation’s aquatic resources while allowing for reasonable development.
Crawford, who works out of the Buffalo District’s Auburn Field Office, serves as a regulatory project manager and is currently the district’s lead for permitting the Micron semiconductor manufacturing project and its connected actions in the Central New York area.
When asked how she felt about receiving the award this year, Crawford said, “It’s very rewarding, and I was very honored to be recognized for working on the most complex project I’ve ever been part of. However, it was a team effort, and I would have never gotten through the review as successfully as we did without the team the Buffalo District created.”
Crawford’s work on the Micron project places her at the center of one of the largest and most complex permitting efforts the district has ever undertaken. As the regulatory lead, she helps coordinate the Corps of Engineers’ responsibilities associated with the project while working with project proponents, partner agencies and other stakeholders throughout the regulatory process.
The role requires Crawford to balance complex environmental considerations, federal regulatory requirements, project needs and coordination among numerous stakeholders.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers administers its regulatory program to protect the nation’s aquatic resources while allowing reasonable development through fair, flexible and balanced permit decisions. Regulatory professionals evaluate proposed activities that may affect waters of the United States and work with applicants and partner agencies to identify ways to avoid, minimize or mitigate impacts to aquatic resources.
For Crawford, that mission has been a significant part of a career with the Corps of Engineers that spans 31 years.
During that time, she has worked as the project manager for other large projects including the Seneca Meadows Landfill, Millennium Pipeline and North Sandy Pond Channel Maintenance Project, building experience that she now brings to complex regulatory decisions and projects throughout the Buffalo District’s area of responsibility.
Despite the recognition, Crawford is not one to seek the spotlight. Humble and often shy about receiving attention for her accomplishments, she has built a reputation among her colleagues as someone who quietly puts the mission and the people around her first.
Beyond her technical expertise, Crawford is a valued teammate and friend to many across the district, earning the respect of those she works with through her dedication, kindness and willingness to help others. Those qualities make the recognition especially fitting for someone who may be more comfortable doing the work behind the scenes than being recognized for it.
For Crawford, receiving the award provides an opportunity to reflect on both her own career and the team of professionals who support the regulatory mission.
She said, “I’m very grateful to work for a district that has developed a team whose strength is built on respect and care for one another.The regulatory team has truly become my work family that I wouldn’t trade for anything.”
As work on the Micron project and other regulatory actions across the Buffalo District continues, Crawford remains focused on a mission she has spent years supporting: making sound, balanced regulatory decisions while protecting aquatic resources and supporting responsible development.
The Buffalo District delivers world class engineering solutions to the Great Lakes Region, the Army and the Nation to ensure national security, environmental sustainability, water resource management, and emergency assistance during peace and war. Learn more atwww.lrd.usace.army.mil/buffalo.
| Date Taken: | 09.16.2026 |
| Date Posted: | 09.16.2026 10:39 |
| Story ID: | 574852 |
| Location: | BUFFALO, NEW YORK, US |
| Hometown: | AUBURN, NEW YORK, US |
| Web Views: | 15 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Buffalo District biologist earns USACE Regulator of the Year award, by Kaylee Wendt, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
