WASHINGTON, D.C. – Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar today praised the Senate’s confirmation of  Bob Abbey, a veteran public land policy leader  and chief architect of the Great Basin Restoration Initiative, as Director of the Bureau of Land Management.

 “Bob has more than 32 years of experience working with states and federal land management agencies,” Secretary Salazar said.  “He has a proven record of strong leadership and accomplishments  and will be an outstanding Director of the Bureau of Land Management.”  Abbey served eight years as the Nevada State Director for the U. S. Bureau of Land Management, providing direction and oversight for 48 million acres of public land managed by the bureau in the state.

 From 1999 through 2005, he was the chairman of the Executive Committee for the implementation of the Southern Nevada Public Lands Management Act.  During his federal career, Abbey was the principal Bureau of Land Management proponent for the Great Basin Restoration Initiative,  testifying before congressional committees and working with both the BLM director and the Secretary of the Interior to elevate the status and funding levels for restoration activities in the Great Basin.

Abbey earned numerous performance awards during his career, including the prestigious Secretary of the Interior’s Executive Leadership Award in  2004. That same year he was recognized by the U.S. Senate with a certificate of commendation for his work on behalf of the Great Basin. 

Abbey was serving as a partner in a private consultant firm called Abbey, Stubbs, & Ford, LLC with offices in Las Vegas and Reno Nevada.  He also continued his advocacy within the private sector as a member of the University of Nevada College of Agriculture Dean’s Advisory Committee and as a board member on several statewide and national non-profit organizations.  The BLM, which has about 10,800 employees and an annual budget of about  $1.8 billion, manages 258 million surface acres – more than any other federal agency. Most of this public land is located in 12 western states, including Alaska. These lands make up about 13 percent of the total land surface of the United States and more than 40 percent of all land managed by the federal government. The Bureau also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation.

Abbey is a graduate of the University of Southern Mississippi where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree.  He and his wife Linda have been married for 32 years and currently reside in Reno, Nevada.  They have one daughter, Leigh.