The majority of Bureau of Land Management (BLM) staff will be packing their bags and heading out west.
Sen. Cory Gardner (R-CO) announced on July 15 the relocation of the BLM headquarters to Grand Junction, CO. Gardner first raised the idea in 2016.
“Relocating the Bureau of Land Management to the Western Slope of Colorado will bring the bureau’s decision makers closer to the people they serve and the public lands they manage,” Gardner said in a released statement. “The problem with Washington is too many policy makers are far removed from the people they are there to serve.”
Molly Block, press secretary of DOI, told WLJ, “We considered multiple Western cities in which BLM already has a presence—evaluating large cities as well as smaller communities.”
This included Colorado, Utah and Idaho.
“Grand Junction was selected because of its significant cost savings, travel accessibility, quality of life attributes, and other factors,” Block said.
Reorganization efforts
In a letter to Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Department of the Interior (DOI) chair of the subcommittee on interior and environment, Joseph Balash, DOI assistant secretary of land and minerals management, highlighted the benefits of the move.
Balash called the reorganization effort necessary to move human resources closer to the land and resources the departments manage, and said Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt received much input to move resources closer to local offices.
Every Western state will be gaining additional staff resources. Objectives include: delegating more responsibility to the field level; maximizing service to the people; and moving BLM’s presence closer to the resources being managed.
The BLM plans to accomplish these objectives by keeping core positions in the Washington D.C. office, relocating headquarters positions to Western state offices, and establishing a new head office in Grand Junction.
Benefits of the move
Balash said the most beneficial results of the move are efficiency and cost.
Executive staff are closer to the land they manage, adding credibility and accountability for BLM decisions. Senior staff will also be present for mentoring and training through constant interaction. This includes more face-to-face frequent communication between leaders and staff, and stakeholders.
Relocating the office to Colorado would not only be more efficient regarding administration, but also cost, Balash said. Currently, travel expenses for BLM executives are at a high cost. Travel between D.C. and Western states for fiscal year 2018 totaled more than $3.2 million. Renting office space for 27 employees in D.C. also costs $50 per square foot, whereas space for the same number of employees would cost $32.35 per square foot in Grand Junction.
The lease for the M Street office in D.C. expires at the end of 2020 and renewal is not an option, as the new rate would exceed $50 per square foot, Balash said. In total, 450 employees must vacate the building by the end of next year. The BLM’s other D.C. office, the main interior building, will continue to be leased for the employees staying in D.C.
Positions by the numbers
A total of 550 positions that perform headquarters-specific roles were evaluated, Balash said in the letter. Of these, 166 positions were already assigned to the field, including special agents and horse wranglers. It was decided that 74 positions will be relocated to BLM state field offices, leaving 476 positions to perform headquarters duties.
In sum, 222 staff members will continue their headquarters duties, but will be relocated to Western states. An additional 74 positions, some of which have been vacant for years, will be moved to state offices to perform duties such as environmental assessments.
Sixty core positions will remain in the D.C. office and a total of 27 positions will be allocated in the new Grand Junction headquarters.
Nearly half of the executive leadership is located in the D.C. office, despite most operations being carried out in the West, Balash said.
The initial relocation of 27 staff members to Grand Junction will be voluntary, provided a commitment is secured by Aug. 15. Implementation of the total reassignments will take place over 15 months until the D.C. office lease expires at the end of 2020.
The following number of positions will be relocated or added to each state:
• Arizona—34 positions;
• California—20 positions;
• Colorado—85 positions;
• Idaho—18 positions;
• Montana/Dakota—3 positions
• Nevada—49 positions;
• New Mexico—39 positions;
• Oregon/Washington—5 positions;
• Utah—44 positions;
• Wyoming—15 positions.
The BLM plans to secure office space in Grand Junction by the end of fiscal year 2019 and vacant positions for the headquarters office will be advertised, Block said. —Anna Miller, WLJ editor
