Tell us a little about yourself and the role(s) you previously held with the BLM.
I majored in Geography in college. After a tour of active duty with the U.S. Air Force, I was employed as a geographer with the Interior Department in Washington, D.C. My career with the BLM was primarily within the Oregon/Washington State Office. I had work details to all of the BLM districts in Oregon and Washington and frequent staff details to the BLM Headquarters in Washington, D.C. Primary assignments included Lands and Realty, Withdrawal Review Coordinator, Supervisory Geographer, Supervisory Land Law Examiner, and Lands and Minerals Adjudication Program Manager.

How long did you work for the BLM and where did you get your start?
In 1966, I began my career with the BLM in the land office of the Oregon/Washington State Office and retired in 1993 after 31 years of federal service.

When did you decide to write "A History of the United States General Land Office in Oregon?"
I was fascinated with the history of BLM's predecessor, the GLO, and I saw the need for a comprehensive reference book for BLM employees and the general public. Long before I retired from the BLM, I decided to eventually write a history of the GLO in Oregon. I collected copies of various historical maps, documents, publications, etc., which I could use as source materials later. I actually began to write my manuscript in 2009.

As you wrote the book, did you learn anything about the GLO or the BLM that you didn't previously know?
It is said that one never stops learning. My research for the book introduced me to a wide range of facts and information that I was not completely aware of. I learned that the contrasting perspectives of the federal government, pioneer immigrant settlers, and Native American tribes, concerning the public domain in Oregon, were a very significant part of the GLO history.

If you were at a party and someone asked you about this history, how would you describe it in on sentence?
The book is a comprehensive and retrospective account of the history of the public lands in Oregon.

What do you think has been the biggest change to the GLO and BLM since 1812?
The biggest change was the federal government's policy of disposing of the lands to private and state ownership, which gradually changed into a policy of retention in federal ownership for multiple-use management and conservation of natural resources.

What is the BLM and Interior doing the same 202 years later?
Although public land management policies have changed, the vast United States Public Land Survey System and the public land status records continue to be the solid foundation upon which rests title to all land that is now, or was once, part of the public domain.

What's your favorite BLM spot, or GLO historic site to visit in Oregon/Washington?
My favorite spots to visit are the Steens Mountain Wilderness Area in the Burns District and the Cape Disappointment Lighthouse Reserve, the first formal land withdrawal and reservation established in the Oregon Territory, on land now within the state of Washington.

If you had a chance to write another book, what would the focus of that yet-to-be written book be?
I would like to write a book on the historical geography of Oregon or on the historical geography of a specific county within Oregon, such as Clackamas County.