Stevan Pearce

Stevan Pearce wearing a suit in front of a U.S. Flag

BLM Director

On May 19, 2026, Stevan Pearce was sworn in as the 20th Director of the Bureau of Land Management.  

Raised by a sharecropper-turned-oilfield laborer in southeast New Mexico, Pearce learned the value of hard work early in life. A graduate of New Mexico State University and Eastern New Mexico University, he earned degrees in economics and business administration before joining the United States Air Force in 1970. As a combat pilot in Vietnam, he logged more than 500 combat hours and received the Distinguished Flying Cross and Air Medal with oak leaf cluster. 

In 1989, Steve and his wife Cynthia purchased a small oilfield services company and expanded it tenfold within a decade. Elected to Congress in 2002, he represented New Mexico’s 2nd District for 14 years, advocating for veterans and working families. In 2016, he solo circumnavigated the globe in a single-engine aircraft, dedicating the journey to U.S. service members.  

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