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Bureau of Land Management Director James Caswell announced today the
appointment of James G. Kenna as the new
director for the agency’s state office
in Arizona. Kenna, a career natural
resource manager, is currently the BLM’s associate state director
for BLM’s Oregon and Washington office. “Jim brings a wealth of
experience to this important job,” Caswell
said. “He has the understanding and the leadership skills needed to
manage the challenging and complex natural resource issues in
Arizona.”
Kenna, a native of Colorado, began his
career 36 years ago in Arizona as a wildland
firefighter and has since served in numerous
positions
throughout the nation. Prior to his current position as associate
state director in BLM’s Oregon/Washington
office, he was
the
deputy assistant director for resources and planning at BLM’s
headquarters office in Washington, D.C. He has also held a variety
of management positions in Palm Springs, Calif., Burns, Ore.,
Prineville, Ore., and Lakeview, Ore., and served as a recreation
planner in
Moab, Utah. He has a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from
Prescott College. Kenna will be moving
back to Arizona with his wife
Renee.
“I appreciate Director Caswell’s confidence in me,”
Kenna said. “I look forward to returning
to Arizona to serve the public and
carry
out the BLM’s multiple-use mission in the state.” In his new
position, Kenna will oversee the
management of BLM Arizona’s 12.2
million
surface acres of public lands and another 17.5 million subsurface
acres within the state. He will be responsible for about 600
employees
in nine offices.
The BLM
manages more land – 258 million surface acres –
than any other federal agency. Most of this public
land
is located in 12 Western states, including Alaska. The Bureau, with
a budget of about $1 billion, also administers 700 million acres
of
sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. 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 the public lands.
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