Yuma Field Office
| Contacts: | Lori Cook, Public Affairs Specialist 928-317-3243 or cell 928-246-8560 |
Yuma Field Office Welcomes New Manager
Yuma, Ariz. - The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Colorado River District will welcome the new Yuma Field Office Manager, John MacDonald, at his swearing-in ceremony on Wednesday, November 16, 2011, in Yuma, Arizona. MacDonald began providing leadership to the Yuma Field Office on October 23, 2011, which was his official start date.
While in graduate school at the University of Wyoming, MacDonald started his federal career with the U.S. Forest Service building fences on the Medicine Bow National Forest. After graduate school, he worked for the Soil Conservation Service as a soil scientist. MacDonald then transferred to the BLM in Rock Springs, Wyoming, as a soil scientist. He then moved into the Minerals and Lands division as a Surface Compliance Specialist and went into management as the Assistant Field Manager for Minerals and Lands in Rock Springs. Before coming to Yuma he was detailed to the BLM Pinedale Field Office as the Project Coordinator of an interagency mitigation team.
“I am very excited about being in the Yuma Field Office and the new opportunities and challenges I will encounter,” said MacDonald. “I am looking forward to working with all the internal and external partners in the area as we continue to work together to make our community a better place to live and enjoy.”
The BLM Yuma Field Office (YFO) encompasses 1.3 million acres in Yuma, La Paz, and Maricopa counties in Arizona and Imperial and Riverside counties in California. YFO manages one of the most significant and largest recreation programs in the Bureau with seven recreation fee sites, two recreation concession leases, seven free 14-day campgrounds, and eight free sites. The Field Office also manages two Long-Term Visitor Areas (LTVA) totaling approximately 11,200 acres.
YFO manages three Areas of Critical Environmental Concern which include Big Marias, Dripping Springs, and Sears Point. YFO manages eight wilderness areas within the National Landscape Conservation System totaling approximately 168,000 acres, co-manages the Anza National Historic Trail, and manages Betty’s Kitchen National Recreation Trail. The Field Office manages one wild burro Herd Management Area and has five grazing allotments that remain open to livestock grazing. YFO lands are home to nine threatened and endangered species including one mammal, three birds, one reptile, and four fish.
** The media is welcome to attend the installation ceremony at the BLM Yuma Field Office on November 16, 2011, at 2 p.m.
The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land, the most of any Federal agency. This land, known as the National System of Public Lands, is primarily located in 12 Western states, including Alaska. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. In Fiscal Year (FY) 2011, recreational and other activities on BLM-managed land contributed more than $130 billion to the U.S. economy and supported more than 600,000 American jobs. The Bureau is also one of a handful of agencies that collects more revenue than it spends. In FY 2012, nearly $5.7 billion will be generated on lands managed by the BLM, which operates on a $1.1 billion budget. The BLM's multiple-use mission is to sustain the health and productivity of the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations. The Bureau accomplishes this by managing such activities as outdoor recreation, livestock grazing, mineral development, and energy production, and by conserving natural, historical, cultural, and other resources on public lands.
Yuma Field Office 2555 East Gila Ridge Road Yuma, AZ 85365-2240