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GRAND JUNCTION, CO. – The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) today announced the appointment of Dr. David Jenkins as the new Assistant Director for Resources and Planning. Jenkins will begin his new position on August 3 at the BLM’s Robert Burford Headquarters in Grand Junction, CO.

“Dr. Jenkins is an outstanding leader, teacher, and land management professional with extensive experience in resource conservation and planning and a thorough grounding in science. We’re excited to have him help lead the BLM’s efforts to manage America’s public lands,” said Deputy Director for Policy and Programs William Perry Pendley.

Jenkins comes to the BLM after six years with the U.S. Forest Service (USFS), most recently where he has served as the Acting Assistant Station Director for Research at the USDA Pacific Southwest Research Station in Davis, California. Previously, he served as Director for Recreation, Wilderness, Heritage, and Volunteer Services for USFS Eastern Region (Region 9).

Before joining the USFS, Jenkins spent nearly five years working for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Alaska, collaborating with other state and federal agencies and Alaska native villages on subsistence hunting and fishing management and other wildlife conservation issues. He has also served as a cultural anthropologist with the National Park Service and has an extensive background in university-level teaching, researching, and publishing in the anthropology field. In that capacity, he has been an adjunct and visiting professor and lecturer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Bates College, and the University of Southern Maine, and conducted research at the Bureau of Applied Research in Anthropology at the University of Arizona.

As the BLM’s Assistant Director for Resources and Planning, Jenkins will oversee policy development and program oversight for the Resources and Planning Directorate, including: Planning and Decision Support; Range, Riparian, and Forest Management; Fish and Wildlife Conservation; Cultural and Paleontological Resources; Wild Horse and Burro Management; and Environmental Quality and Protection.  

Jenkins earned a bachelor’s degree in anthropology from the University of Utah, a master’s degree from the University of Michigan, and a Ph.D. from Brandeis University, all in anthropology. He also holds a master’s degree in American History from the University of Utah.

In addition, the BLM has selected Brian St. George as the Deputy Assistant Director for Resources and Planning. He has been with the BLM for more than 20 years, mostly in Colorado before coming to Washington last year to serve as the Acting Assistant Director. St. George has served as Deputy State Director for Resources in Colorado since 2014. He started with the BLM in 2000 where he served as a Natural Resource Specialist in the BLM’s National Science and Technology Center in Lakewood, CO. He then served in various roles as a Planning Coordinator, Branch Chief for Planning, and Field Manager of the Gunnison Field Office before becoming Deputy State Director. St. George also spearheaded the BLM’s implementation of major conservation plans across seven western states while serving as the BLM’s National Sage-Grouse Planning Lead.