Arizona State Office
| Contacts: | Dennis Godfrey, 602-417-9499, dgodfrey@blm.gov |
BLM Names New Phoenix District Manager
Mary D’Aversa, an 18-year employee for the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), has been named District Manager for the BLM Arizona’s Phoenix District. She will begin her new assignment in Phoenix on January 28, 2013.
Currently, D’Aversa is the manager for the Schell Field Office in Ely, Nevada. She previously worked for the BLM in Wyoming, Oregon, and Washington, D.C.
Ray Suazo, BLM Arizona State Director, selected D’Aversa for the Phoenix District position.
“We are lucky to have Mary D’Aversa, with her broad range of experience in natural resource management, coming to work with us in Arizona,” Suazo said. “She is well-prepared to step into the management position and make an impact immediately.”
At the Phoenix District Office, D’Aversa will have responsibility for 2.4 million acres of Federal public land and 92 employees. The district manager oversees the Hassayampa and Lower Sonoran field offices. Together, the field offices manage Federal lands from Arizona’s border with Utah south to the Mexican border. Those lands include the Agua Fria National Monument, which is north of Phoenix, and the Sonoran Desert National Monument, which is southwest of Phoenix.
The BLM is a diverse agency with responsibility to manage public lands for multiple uses that include grazing, mineral extraction, recreation, and renewable energy development. D’Aversa has experience in many of those areas.
In her position as Field Manager in Nevada, she has been responsible for wild horse and burro gathers, grazing and fire management, and renewable energy projects. She was the authorizing officer for the Spring Valley Wind Project, a 150-megawatt project on BLM land east of Ely.
“I look forward to working together with an outstanding staff and an interested community in dealing with the exciting challenges facing the Phoenix District Office,” D’Aversa said.
D’Aversa replaces Angelita Bulletts, who held the position for about 2½ years. She is now the Forest Supervisor for the Dixie National Forest.
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.