New Manager to lead Western Montana BLM District
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oath of office and her husband Brian looks on, Katie Stevens
takes over as the new manager for BLM's Western District.
(BLM Photo by David Abrams)
(BUTTE, Mont.) – The manager for the Bureau of Land Management’s Western Montana District is on board after being officially inducted to the post in a ceremony June 26.
Katie Stevens took the oath of office, administered by John Mehlhoff, State Director for the Montana/Dakotas BLM, during the brief induction ceremony in the Butte BLM field office’s conference room.
Stevens thanked the staffs of the Butte, Dillon and
Missoula field offices, the Western Montana BLM District, and the Montana State Office for their support and said she looks forward to working with the Western Montana team. Stevens replaces Richard Hotaling, who retired from the BLM at the end of 2018.
Stevens comes to the Western Montana District from Colorado where she worked in the BLM’s Grand Junction Field Office for the last 10 years. She got her start with the BLM in the Montana/Dakotas State Office in Billings where she worked for eight years as both a planning coordinator and conservation planner before moving to Colorado. There, she served as a National Conservation Area Manager in Grand Junction before taking the field manager position. A Montana native, Stevens earned her degree in environmental studies from Montana State University-Billings.
“I am so happy to be returning to work with BLM Montana/Dakotas,” Stevens said. “Although multiple-use management can be challenging, I really enjoy the process of collaborating with our partners to find creative solutions and innovative paths forward. I look forward to supporting the great team of staff and managers we have here in Montana, and to engaging with the public, communities and our partners to understand how we can best manage the public lands under our stewardship.”
The district manages nearly 1,369,930 acres of public lands and more than 16,697,228 acres of subsurface mineral estate in western Montana.
The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land located primarily in 12 western states, including Alaska, on behalf of the American people. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. Our mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of America’s public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations.