WASHINGTON, DC — Relocation notices were issued last week to 159 employees at the Bureau of Land Management. BLM has been planning to relocate to Colorado and other western states.
Last July, BLM announced that it was looking to move 300 employees to Reno, NV, where the main office for the agencies Wild Horse and Burro Program and other grazing initiatives are based. Among the positions originally planning to move were a senior policy analyst, several legislative affairs specialists, and a public affairs specialist.
The announcement met its share of resistance from several lawmakers who argue many of the staffers are necessary in Washington D.C.
The positions originally were created in Washington to allow staffers the opportunity to easily interact with lawmakers and senior staff at BLM and its parent agency the Department of the Interior.
At an appearance before the House Natural Resources Committee in September, BLM acting chief William Pendley said BLM would help those who do not want to take “more fulfilling jobs out West” by finding them roles elsewhere within Interior.
Employees now have 30 days to decide whether they’ll accept reassignment, and another 90 days to move. BLM also says those who do relocate have been approved to receive a 25% basic pay incentive.
“For employees unable to make the move, we hope to find each a position in the Department of Interior family,” Pendley said.
,quality(10),blur(50))