The Latest: Trump administration to move land agency west
Posted Jul 16, 2019 12:38 pm.
DENVER — The Latest on the Trump administration plan to move the Bureau of Land Management headquarters from Washington to Colorado (all times local):
12:35 p.m.
The Trump administration has confirmed that the headquarters of the government’s largest land management agency is moving from the nation’s capital to western Colorado.
In a letter dated Tuesday, the Interior Department told Congress it plans to move the Bureau of Land Management headquarters to Grand Junction, Colorado.
The bureau is part of the Interior Department. The department scheduled a formal announcement for later Tuesday.
The letter was released by Colorado Republican Sen. Cory Gardner. Gardner praised the move, saying it would bring decision-makers closer to the land they manage.
The bureau oversees nearly 388,000 square miles (1 billion square kilometres) of public land, and 99% is in 12 Western states. Only about 400 of the bureau’s 9,000 employees are in Washington. The rest are in field offices nationwide.
Republican lawmakers announced the move Monday, but administration officials didn’t confirm it until Tuesday.
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12 a.m.
Some Westerners complain the U.S. government is an absentee landlord, managing vast tracts of public lands in their states from the nation’s capital, but GOP lawmakers say that may change soon.
Colorado Republican Sen. Cory Gardner said Monday the Bureau of Land Management is moving its headquarters from Washington to his state.
He said the new office would be in Grand Junction, 250 miles (400 kilometres) west of Denver.
A Bureau of Land Management spokeswoman said she couldn’t confirm or deny the move. An announcement about the agency’s plans was expected Tuesday.
A spokesman for Utah Republican Rep. Rob Bishop says Colorado, Nevada and Utah could each gain 50 jobs.
The bureau oversees nearly 388,000 square miles (1 billion square kilometres) of public land, and 99% is in 12 Western states.
The Associated Press
