Robert C. Pavlik of San Luis Obispo has received a statewide award for excellence in historic preservation.

Pavlik, 56, a senior environmental planner with Caltrans, will receive the Governor’s Historic Preservation Award on Thursday at a ceremony in the ballroom of the Leland Stanford Mansion State Historic Park in Sacramento.

The award cites Pavlik as “a multi-faceted mentor, advisor, published author, poet, accomplished state historian and member of varied civic organizations, nonprofits, advisory committees and the Caltrans Historic Preservation Committee.”

Over the past 25 years, much of Pavlik’s efforts have focused on the Carrizo Plain and the national monument there. He was instrumental in helping the Bureau of Land Management develop a resource management plan for the 206,000-acre monument.

The award also cites Pavlik’s broader societal contributions primarily as a writer, which the award says is “truly exceptional.”

“Bob’s vast literary contributions — poetry, essays, books, pamphlets and learned treatises — help us understand the importance of history in shaping the present and providing a basis for right action in the future,” states an announcement by the California Office of Historic Preservation.