Perspective: America’s largest land manager now amidst public’s lands
Earlier this year, in Colorado Springs, President Trump declared, “And we are taking the Bureau of Land Management out of Washington, D. C.; we’ve just done it because we believe that the people who manage the lands of the great American West should live right here in the great American West.”
On August 10, U. S. Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt completed the BLM’s move by signing a secretarial order formally establishing Grand Junction as the bureau’s headquarters. BLM employees and seasoned decision- makers are now relocated not just to the headquarters in Grand Junction, but also to offices across the West and in Alaska.
The move was designed to delegate more responsibility to the field, maximize services to the American people, and increase the BLM’s presence closest to the resources it manages. After all, 99.99 percent of the 245 million acres managed by the BLM are found west of the 100th meridian. Given the almost universal bipartisan support for the move, especially from the West, it is a huge success— one that began early in the Trump administration.
In March 2017, President Trump signed an executive order calling for a “Comprehensive Plan for Reorganizing the Executive Branch.” In response, the Department proposed the BLM move its headquarters to the edge of the Great Basin. Last July, following meetings with Capitol Hill leaders as well as affected employees in the Washington, D. C. area, the BLM began the challenging process of accomplishing President Trump’s and Secretary Bernhardt’s vision while also acting compassionately regarding long- serving, dedicated employees. At the time, there were 550 positions— many of which were already vacant— at the BLM’s M Street offices in exorbitantly priced office space with a soon- to- expire- lease near the Washington Nationals baseball stadium in the District of Columbia.
Now, with the successful completion of the move, 222 positions are located in vibrant western communities like Billings, Boise, Reno, Salt Lake City, and Santa Fe, and 40 senior leaders and key decisionmakers are assigned to the Grand Junction headquarters. Sixty- one positions, including skilled personnel working in public affairs, congressional affairs, regulatory affairs, Freedom of Information Act ( FOIA), and budget development, remain in Washington, D. C.
The Trump administration made a commitment to all affected BLM employees that if, notwithstanding generous move incentives, employees could not move west, the Bureau would do all it could to be flexible and retain them as federal employees. If they preferred to exercise retirement rights or pursue other federal employment opportunities in the Washington, D. C. area, they would receive all possible support and assistance. All affected employees were provided with extensive job search assistance, including career fairs, resume writing expertise, and career counseling. Thanks to the hard work and support of all Interior departments, assistant secretaries and bureau heads as well as other federal departments, I am proud to say that all employees who wanted to stay in federal employment in the Washington, D. C., metropolitan area rather than moving west were aided in finding suitable federal positions. As I promised employees in my frequent face- to- face and written communications, no one was left behind.
Employees who elected to move are now thriving in the “Great American West,” as President Trump enthused, enjoying lower costs of living; shorter commute times— by hours, not minutes; greater ease in meeting with BLM leaders who are only a short drive away rather than a long flight; proximity to incredible recreational opportunities on BLM- managed public lands; and fewer people and ease of social distancing. As Charles Badger Clark, Jr. put it, “With skyline bounds from east to west/ And room to go and come/ I loved my fellow man the best/ When he was scattered some.”
Thanks to an unprecedented, all- hands- on- deck hiring effort, the BLM is now or soon will be blessed not with just outstanding new executive leaders but also with extraordinarily talented rank and file employees who, with the BLM’s well- known proficiency at training leaders, will take the helm and lead the BLM into an even brighter future.