For Immediate Release: November 1, 2002
Contact: Celia Boddington BLM 202-452-5128 
Barb Perkins BLM 303-312-6436
Vaughn Whatley BLM 303-239-3766

Ron Wenker named new State Director for BLM Colorado 

DENVER - Bureau of Land Management Director Kathleen Clarke has announced the appointment of Ron Wenker as the new State Director of BLM's Colorado Office effective January 6, 2003.

Wenker will head BLM's Colorado operations. He currently is serving as the District Manager in BLM's Medford, Oregon, office. Wenker has worked for BLM for 29- years in four states and Washington DC. He has held several positions within the Bureau during his career, which began in 1971.

"I'm honored to join BLM's Colorado State Office, which has such a proud tradition of effective stewardship and conservation of our public lands and natural resources," said Wenker. "I look forward to the challenges ahead as we continue to cultivate the concept of multiple use management of our public lands.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) manages 8.3 million acres of public lands in Colorado. These lands are managed for a multitude of uses including, but not limited to, recreation, mining, wildlife habitat and livestock grazing. Along with these 8.3 million acres, BLM oversees 27.3 million subsurface acres for mineral development in the state.

"The Colorado State Office has earned an outstanding reputation for cooperating and consulting with the many partners, stakeholders and customers that we interact with on a daily basis," Wenker added. "I want us to maintain those elements of professionalism and add to them a willingness to listen to the concerns of others and to establish productive two-way communication avenues. I believe that open, honest, proactive and plainspoken communication is critical in our efforts to efficiently manage our resources for a healthy environment and a strong economy."

Clarke also announced the selection of four other new State Directors to fill positions left vacant by retirements and resignations over the past few months. The appointments, including Wenker, involve three current BLM employees, one former BLM employee and one career natural resource manager from outside the agency.

"Providing balanced stewardship that serves our multiple use mission requires skilled and dedicated leadership, along with a determination to involve the public in all aspects of pubic land management. Our new State Directors will bring that kind of leadership to the BLM," Clarke said.

Clarke also noted that all the new State Directors will help provide the leadership skills the agency needs to carry out an increasingly complex and challenging mission. "Our public lands contribute in many different ways to the quality of life we enjoy in this country," Clarke said. "They provide opportunities for recreation and outdoor adventure. They contribute to the vitality and economic strength of local communities and to our national economy through traditional activities such as ranching, mining, timber production and oil and gas production. And they offer important environmental values that must be preserved, including clean air, clean water and healthy habitat for plant and animal life."

The BLM is an agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior. It manages 262 million acres of public lands, located primarily in the 12 Western states, including Alaska. The Bureau also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. The BLM has an annual budget of more than $1.2 billion and carries out its management mission with a workforce of about 9,000 employees.

-BLM-