| Contacts: | David Boyd 970-876-9008 |
Public invited to open house for BLM’s new Silt building
SILT, Colo. — The Bureau of Land Management is hosting an open house for the public at its new Silt location, 2300 River Frontage Road, on Wednesday, Nov. 18, from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.
The public will have an opportunity to get an up-close, behind-the-scenes tour of the new facility. Light refreshments will be served.
The 18,800 square-foot building includes a wide variety of green and energy-efficient features, including water efficient landscaping and plumbing, energy efficient heating and cooling, paint and carpet minimizing organic volatile compounds, and construction optimizing passive solar heating.
The more than 60 employees from the BLM Glenwood Springs Field Office and Energy Office, which also includes employees from the U.S. Forest Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, moved into this single location in September of this year.
BLM began looking at new office locations in 2007 in anticipation of the two building leases in Glenwood Springs expiring.
“The Silt location met all our needs and offered the best deal for the taxpayer,” said Field Manager Steve Bennett.
The facility was built specifically to accommodate BLM, which will lease the building. BLM required the building to be constructed using green principles and materials.
“After a year of occupancy we will pursue certification in the LEED program,” Bennett said.
The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System promotes sustainability by recognizing practices such as sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality.
The Field Office in Silt manages 567,000 acres of BLM lands in Eagle, Garfield, Pitkin, Rio Blanco, and Routt counties. It’s part of the 5 million-acre Northwest Colorado District.
The BLM manages more land - 253 million acres - than any other Federal agency. This land, known as the National System of Public Lands, is primarily located in 12 Western states, including Alaska. The Bureau, with a budget of about $1 billion, also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. 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.
2300 River Frontage Road Silt, CO 81652