Utah State Office
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Secretary Salazar Announces New Appointments to BLM Resource Advisory Councils
Salt Lake City, Utah -- Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced the appointment of four new members to Utah’s citizen Resource Advisory Councils (RACs), which advise Interior’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) on public land issues.
“The BLM’s Resource Advisory Councils help ensure that the management of our public lands and resources are guided by a wide range of perspectives and by the input of citizens and local communities,” said BLM Utah State Director, Juan Palma. “I welcome our new RAC members and commend them for their service on behalf of America’s public lands. Their input and recommendations will help us restore our treasured landscapes and ensure that we are harnessing the benefits of these lands in a balanced way."
The councils, composed of citizens chosen for their expertise in various fields of natural resource use and management, help the bureau carry out its stewardship of 245 million acres of public lands. The agency, which manages more land than any other Federal agency, has 24 RACs across the West, where most BLM-managed land is located. Each RAC consists of 12 to 15 members with an interest in public land management, such as ranchers, conservationists, outdoor recreationists, tribal officials, state and local government officials, scientists, and others.
“RAC members come from different backgrounds and reflect a wide range of perspectives,” said State Director, Juan Palma. “Their diversity results in a balanced outlook that the bureau needs as it carries out its multiple-use mission. The BLM is responsible for managing these various uses – such as outdoor recreation, livestock grazing, mineral development, and energy production – while conserving the land’s natural, historical, and cultural resources.”
The newly appointed members of Utah’s RAC are:
- Brian Merrill, Commercial Recreation, Sandy
- Bill Hopkin, State Agency, Woodruff
- Steven Slater, Environmental, Brighton
- Porter Teegarden, Dispersed Recreation, Salt Lake City
Information about upcoming RAC meetings will be announced as soon as it becomes available
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The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land, the most of any Federal agency. This land, known as the National System of Public Lands, is primarily located in 12 Western states, including Alaska. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. In Fiscal Year (FY) 2011, recreational and other activities on BLM-managed land contributed more than $130 billion to the U.S. economy and supported more than 600,000 American jobs. The Bureau is also one of a handful of agencies that collects more revenue than it spends. In FY 2012, nearly $5.7 billion will be generated on lands managed by the BLM, which operates on a $1.1 billion budget. The BLM's multiple-use mission is to sustain the health and productivity of the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations. The Bureau accomplishes this by managing such activities as outdoor recreation, livestock grazing, mineral development, and energy production, and by conserving natural, historical, cultural, and other resources on public lands.
Utah State Office 440 West 200 South, Suite 500 SLC, UT 84101-1345