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The Bureau of Land Management has named Kevin J. Pendergast as the new director of the Alaska State Office in Anchorage. Pendergast will lead the BLM’s efforts of implementing the Administration’s and Secretary of the Interior’s priorities of unleashing Alaska’s extraordinary resource potential.

Jon Raby, currently exercising the authority of the BLM director, announced the appointment June 3 noting “Kevin brings decades of Interior Department and private sector experience and is a proven leader,” Raby said. “He has spent many years in Alaska working with policy makers, industry leaders, and communities across the state. His expertise will ensure we continue to unleash the resource potential in Alaska.”

As the state director for Alaska, Pendergast will continue the BLM’s efforts to expand opportunities for exploration and development in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska and the Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Pendergast will also lead the BLM’s work towards revocation of public land withdrawals that will help solidify the path forward for the proposed Ambler Road and Alaska Liquified Natural Gas Pipeline projects.

Pendergast has served as the BLM Alaska deputy state director for resources since 2019 where he leads one of the key mining programs in the Interior Department and directly manages the oil and gas leasing efforts in the state, as well as overseeing recreation and other important programs. The economic contributions from Alaska’s BLM-managed public lands totaled more than $1.7 billion and supported more than 4,000 jobs in Fiscal Year 2023.

As BLM’s Alaska State Director, Pendergast will be responsible for overseeing the management of 70 million surface acres and 220 million acres of Federal sub-surface mineral estate. He will also oversee permanent staff and seasonal employees who help manage a myriad of public land uses and resources to include the Federal Subsistence Management Program, the Alaska Land Transfer Program. the National Petroleum Reserve and oversight of the Trans-Alaskan Pipeline System. He will start as the state director June 29.

In addition to his assignments in BLM, Pendergast has also served as a Deputy Regional Director for the Interior Department’s Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, a senior program advisor for Interior’s Office of Budget, and an acting deputy superintendent of Grand Teton National Park. Pendergast built his initial career in Alaska as a consultant and project manager working in nearly every corner of Alaska.

Pendergast holds a bachelor’s degree in Geology from Oregon State University and bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Alaska Anchorage. He is a registered Professional Engineer in the state of Alaska and a certified Professional Geologist from the American Institute of Professional Geologists. Pendergast lives in Anchorage with his wife and family.