| Contacts: | Contact: Joan Moody, 202-208-6416 |
Secretary Salazar Appoints Alan Gilbert as Senior Advisor for the Rocky Mountains and Southwest
WASHINGTON, D.C.—Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced today that he has selected Alan Gilbert, an experienced energy and environmental lawyer and former Solicitor General of Colorado, as Senior Advisor to the Secretary for the Rocky Mountains and Southwest.
“I have the highest regard for Alan Gilbert’s extensive and varied experience in government, the private sector and academia as well as a personal appreciation of his invaluable counsel on natural resources and the environment,” said Secretary Salazar. “When I added that experience to his intimate knowledge of the Rocky Mountain and Southwestern states, I concluded he needed to be on the Interior team.”
Gilbert currently is a partner in Holme, Roberts & Owen, LLP, in Denver, Colo. and has been a long-time professor at the University of Denver, teaching Environmental Law and Energy Management.
He previously served Salazar as his Deputy Chief of Staff in the Senate (2005-2006) and as Solicitor General of the State of Colorado (2000-2004) when Salazar was attorney general of the state. He was lead lawyer in a number of cases going all the way up to the Supreme Court. Gilbert handled high-profile natural resource issues such as the state prosecution of the Summitville mine CERCLA litigation and negotiated a unique air quality agreement between the State of Colorado and the Southern Ute Indian Tribe.
Before that time, Gilbert was Assistant Deputy Attorney General of the Natural Resources and Environment Section in the Colorado Department of Law.
From 1977 to 1999, Alan served as Associate, Partner and Member of Sherman & Howard L.L.C. where he worked in Litigation and Natural Resources Departments with a
wide-ranging environmental law practice representing mining, manufacturing, and commercial clients.
He holds a B.S. in Engineering from Brown University and a Doctor of Jurisprudence from the University of Michigan Law School. Both were awarded magna cum laude.
The BLM manages more land - over 245 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.