U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT NEWS RELEASE
Utah State Office
Utah State Office
| Contacts: | Sherry Foot | , 801-539-4195 |
BLM Announces New Appointment to Resource Advisory Council
Salt Lake City–The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announced today that Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar has appointed one new member to Utah’s citizen Resource Advisory Council (RAC), which advises the BLM on public land issues across Utah. The newly-appointed member of the Utah RAC is Rick Ellis. Rick resides in Howell, Utah, and will serve as the Wild Horse and Burro representative on the RAC.
“The BLM’s Resource Advisory Councils help ensure that the management of our public lands and resources is guided by a wide range of perspectives and through the citizen input,” Secretary Salazar said. “I welcome our new RAC members and commend them for their service on behalf of America’s public lands. Their input and recommendations will help us restore our treasured landscapes and ensure that we are harnessing the benefits of these lands in a balanced way."
The councils, composed of citizens chosen for their expertise in various disciplines across the natural resource use and management field, help the BLM carry out its stewardship of 245 million acres of public lands and waters. The bureau, which manages more land than any other Federal agency, has 24 RACs across the West, where most BLM-managed lands are located. Each RAC consists of 12 to 15 members with an interest in public land management, including ranchers, conservationists, outdoor recreationists, tribal officials, state and local government officials, scientists, and others.
“Utah’s RAC members come from different backgrounds and reflect a wide range of perspectives,” said BLM-Utah State Director, Juan Palma. “Their diversity creates the balanced outlook that the bureau needs to successfully carry out its multiple-use mission.”
Information about upcoming RAC meetings, which are open to the public, will be announced once it becomes available.
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The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land, the most of any Federal agency. This land, known as the National System of Public Lands, is primarily located in 12 Western states, including Alaska. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. In Fiscal Year (FY) 2011, recreational and other activities on BLM-managed land contributed more than $130 billion to the U.S. economy and supported more than 600,000 American jobs. The Bureau is also one of a handful of agencies that collects more revenue than it spends. In FY 2012, nearly $5.7 billion will be generated on lands managed by the BLM, which operates on a $1.1 billion budget. 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.
Utah State Office 440 West 200 South, Suite 500 SLC, Utah 84101-1345