For Release: May 8, 2006
Contact: John Dearing (916) 978-4622
CA-SO-06-08

Bill Haigh Named New BLM Folsom Field Manager

Veteran public land manager Bill Haigh has been named as the U.S. Bureau of Land Management's (BLM) new Folsom field office manager.

BLM State Director Mike Pool, who announced the appointment in Sacramento today, said Haigh will be responsible for overseeing 230,000 acres of public lands in 14 northern and central California counties.

"We welcome Bill back to California. His wealth of experience as a field manager, as the planning team leader for the West Mojave plan in the California Desert, and his proven skills building seamless partnerships benefiting all those involved, will lend greatly to carrying on the work in our Folsom office," said Pool. "He has clearly demonstrated an understanding of the dynamics of bringing people and agencies together to work toward a common goal."

Haigh, currently a BLM field office manager in Roseburg, Oregon, will report to his new job in July and will replace Deane Swickard, who has retired following 31 years of service with BLM, 23 of those years in the Folsom office. Haigh said he is looking forward to returning to California, especially the area where he grew up and attended Bella Vista High School. "This is a great opportunity," said Haigh, "I am fortunate to be returning to my home town, but more importantly, I am going to an office with a proven staff, where a lot of very good work is already underway."

Haigh completed a bachelor's degree at the University of California, Los Angeles in 1975. He began his BLM career as an environmental specialist in Sacramento in 1977. He went on to become the planning and environmental staff chief in the California Desert District from 1982 to 1988 before leaving government service to complete his law degree at McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento. He practiced law at a Sacramento law firm between 1992 and 1996.

He returned to BLM as the West Mojave interagency planning team leader in November 1996 until June 2004. The planning process involved representatives from 120 stakeholder groups and over two-dozen agencies and jurisdictions to develop a conservation and land use plan for 9.3 million acres in the western portion of the Mojave Desert in San Bernardino, Los Angeles, Kern and Inyo counties.

Haigh will take over the leadership of the BLM's 31-person Folsom office with jurisdiction over public lands stretching from Merced County in the south to Yuba County in the north, with most of the acreage in the Mother Lode region of the Sierra Nevada. Haigh is married and has a thirteen year old daughter.

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