Jamie Connell Named Director of BLM's Oregon/Washington State Office
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Bureau of Land Management veteran Jamie Connell, currently Director of the BLM’s Montana/Dakotas State Office, has been named the new Director of the BLM’s Oregon/Washington State Office based in Portland, Oregon.
BLM Director Neil Kornze, who announced the appointment today, noted that “Jamie brings extensive experience and a depth of natural resource knowledge with her to her new post. She understands the challenges of public land management at a time when the American people recognize the scenic, recreational, and economic values of these lands as never before.”
Connell, a 31-year BLM veteran, has served since October 2010 as head of the BLM Montana/Dakotas State Office, based in Billings, Montana. In their new capacity, Connell will oversee more than 16 million acres of public land in Oregon and Washington that comprise a mix of heavily forested lands west of the Cascades and the dry, sagebrush ecosystems of the Great Basin. These BLM-managed lands support diverse uses, resources, and values, including recreation, wilderness, wildlife, timber harvesting, livestock grazing, wild horses and burros, and mineral extraction.
Connell, a native of Butte, Montana, received a B.S. in Petroleum Engineering from Montana Tech in 1985, when they began their BLM career as a petroleum engineer in Miles City, Montana. Connell’s managerial experience includes stints for the BLM and the U.S. Forest Service in locations across the West, including Great Falls and Malta, Montana; Boise, Idaho; and the cities of Montrose, Silverthorne, Glenwood Springs, and Grand Junction, all in Colorado.
Connell and their spouse John enjoy hiking, skiing, canoeing, upland bird hunting, and fly fishing.
The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land located primarily in 12 western states, including Alaska, on behalf of the American people. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. Our mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of America’s public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations.