Today, we’re looking at the future of the Bureau of Land Management — a federal agency that oversees nearly 250 million acres of land in the West.   

We’re in the middle of a critical moment for public lands, especially the BLM. Staffing and budget cuts are hitting an agency that’s already stretched thin, there’s still no confirmed director, and a recent ProPublica investigation is once again raising questions about oversight of the grazing program.  

To help put all these headlines in context, and consider what reforms might even be possible, WLA’s CEO Lesli Allison sat down with Jesse Juen, former New Mexico State Director of the BLM. 

Jesse Juen is an advisor to the Western Landowners Alliance (WLA) and the former New Mexico State Director for the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Over the course of his career, he held leadership positions across New Mexico and Arizona, and also served in Washington, D.C. as Deputy Assistant Director for the BLM’s National Landscape Conservation System.

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Links from this episode

Jesse is featured in this episode of Working Wild University: What do carbon and cows have to do with lesser prairie-chickens?

Jesse is also a regular contributor to On Land. Here are some of his latest articles:

New Mexico’s latest approach to funding conservation is already having big impacts

Partners speed restoration of pronghorn in southeast New Mexico

Credits

Thanks again to Jesse Juen for joining us today.

On Land is a production of Western Landowners Alliance, a West-wide organization of landowners, natural resource managers and partners dedicated to keeping working lands whole and healthy for the benefit of people and wildlife. This episode was hosted by Lesli Allison and produced by Zach Altman.  

Our theme song is by Sterling Drake.