Former Rep. Steve Pearce is expected to win confirmation Monday night to head the Bureau of Land Management. At that point, he’ll be one of the agency’s few permanent leaders.
The former New Mexico Republican lawmaker will be taking over a bureau dealing with not only a sharply diminished staff but numerous high-ranking posts filled on a temporary basis.
Only four of BLM’s 12 state offices have permanent state directors. Other key senior BLM posts like deputy director for administration and programs and assistant director for resource and planning are likewise held by temporary caretakers. Many of the offices lost their leaders to retirements and other departures in recent months.
“With administration changes there’s always turnover but not this much at one time,” said Steve Ellis, who served as BLM’s deputy director before retiring in 2016. He also served as Idaho state director.
