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Last updated: 03/14/00

Mat Millenbach Named BLM Montana State Director

Mat Millenbach is returning to BLM as State Director for Montana/Dakotas, BLM Acting Director Tom Fry, announced today. He will replace Larry Hamilton who is moving to Boise, Idaho to manage the BLM's Office of Fire and Aviation, located at the National Interagency Fire Center.

"The BLM is very fortunate to have such a dedicated professional, who has provided outstanding service to BLM over the years," said Fry. "Mat brings with him a wealth of Washington- and field-related experience."

Millenbach is a former Deputy Director of the BLM who brings almost three decades of natural resource management experience to the job. He has strong ties to Montana having worked in the state for the BLM and the Forest Service. His last job in Montana was as the BLM District Manager in Miles City.

"I am very pleased to be returning to Montana" he said. "My wife and I met and were married there; my oldest daughter was born there; my son graduated from Custer County District High School; and I have very many friends in Montana."

Mat has worked for the Department of the Interior for 28 years and has been stationed in many locations throughout the country. Positions he has held with the BLM include State Director in Utah, the Chief of Lands in Washington, DC, and Field Office Manager in Farmington, New Mexico. Millenbach is currently the Program Manager for the Department's Natural Resource Damage Assessment and Restoration Program. In that position he has been responsible for coordinating the Department's restoration efforts for lands and resources damaged by oil spills and hazardous waste discharges.

Millenbach, 56, is a Vietnam veteran and holds a degree in forestry from Michigan State University. Millenbach will report to Montana on April 10.

The BLM an agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior, manages more land -- 264 million surface acres -- than any other Federal agency. Most of this public land is located in 12 Western states, including Alaska. In Montana, the BLM administers approximately 8 million acres, 60,000 acres in North Dakota, and 279,000 acres in South Dakota. In addition, it oversees 47.3 million subsurface mineral acres in Montana and the Dakotas.