Installation Ceremony for Ron Wenker
Colorado State Director
Bureau of Land Management
January 9, 2003

Message from the State Director

I would like to thank Kathleen Clarke for giving me this opportunity. I look forward to working with her and being part of the team she has selected to manage our land and resources. I have had many opportunities to work with Kathleen and have found her to be talented, dedicated and extremely supportive of BLM employees.

I also want to extending my appreciation to Doug Koza for his outstanding leadership and the direction he provided during his past six-months as acting State Director. I know I will continue to rely on his advice and counsel during my own tenure.

Thank you all for the warm reception I’ve received since my arrival and for your commitment to making the transition go as smoothly as possible. I want you to know, it’s a privilege to join a State with such a proud tradition of stewardship in managing our public lands and resources. I want to do my part to enhance that tradition and assure that you get the recognition and respect you deserve.

In my short time here, I’ve already had the pleasure of meeting with many of you who have briefed me about specific issues. I must say that I am impressed by the expertise, intelligence and skills displayed by so many.

As John F. Kennedy said: leadership and learning are indispensable to each other. I am learning about the issues, key players and programs affecting Colorado’s public lands. I will depend on my management team, and each of you to speed the learning curve and help me more effectively represent you and the interests of BLM Colorado.

Early on I plan to get out to the field offices, and to meet our key constituents and partners to discuss issues affecting Colorado’s public lands. My preference is to meet each of you face to face and hear your thoughts and ideas. I plan to be accessible and I am willing to meet with you individually or in a group setting. I look forward to becoming better acquainted with our challenging issues, our great resources in this State, and with the people who manage them.

I’d also like to share with you some of my operating principles.

I want you to know that one of my personal priorities in the weeks and months ahead will be to

help us pursue, promote and implement Secretary Norton’s Four Cs philosophy of consultation, cooperation, and communication - all in the service of conservation.

This philosophy has influenced my management style throughout my career. I am a firm believer of cooperatively managing our public lands. I plan to work closely with our local, state and federal partners. It is my priority to forge partnerships and coalitions with communities, land-users and other groups representing diverse interests and emerging issues.

I will continue to steer us towards improving our efforts at consulting, cooperating and communicating within and outside of BLM. By implementing these 4Cs, and by working collaboratively with our partners, we will ensure the health and productivity of our public lands, now and for future generations.

I’d also like us to focus on performance and personal accountability.

We must continually seek innovative methods to streamline our processes and improve our customer service. As the President often says, in the end, the best measures of success are completion, performance and results. Not just making promises, but making good on promises.

I want us to become the model for the rest of the Agency when it comes to action, accountability and results.

A good example of this is our Service First efforts. I know that Colorado BLM is already the recognized leader for the Service First initiative. I commend you for the hard work you have done to achieve this recognition. I not only intend to work to expand this effort with our partners in the Forest Service, but to seek opportunities to share resources and personnel with other Federal and State agencies.

As I’ve already said, I feel privileged to be a part of this organization and to be associated with so many talented and dedicated people. I encourage you all to maximize the use of your talents, skills and abilities. I know of a great quote that we all might find useful. It declares that if you have a talent, use it in every which way possible. Don't hoard it. Don't dole it out like a miser. Spend it lavishly like a millionaire intent on going broke.

One of our trademarks is our ability to solve problems and accomplish difficult tasks due to the talented, experienced and professional employees that make up BLM. You talented people are our most valuable commodity. It is my job to make the best use of that expertise.

I view my role as one of providing vision and direction, and also helping to get the resources you need to carry out our vital multiple use mandate. I firmly believe that the success of any organization depends on its ability to cultivate the talent of its people, and to trust them to do their jobs well.

This is a particularly challenging and important time for our country, and I'm proud to take part in managing our nation's great natural resources. We still have many challenges ahead, particularly considering the drought and the upcoming fire season. But we have made definite progress in improving the health of the land, the quality of our air and water, and our wildlife habitat.

I am honored to serve as the Director of the Colorado BLM State Office. Again, I want to thank each of you for your dedicated service to our country and for your outstanding work on behalf of the public lands.

Ron Wenker
BLM Colorado State Director