Statement from National Trust President Richard Moe on Appointment of Bob Abbey to Head Bureau of Land Management
Posted June 10, 2009 | Contact pr@nthp.org or 202-588-6141
The National Trust for Historic Preservation enthusiastically applauds President Obama's choice of Bob Abbey to serve as Director of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). With 32 years of public service experience-including eight as BLM's Nevada State Director, and as a director on the National Conservation System Foundation Board-Abbey understands the critical role BLM plays in protecting fragile cultural resources while also providing reasonable access to other uses on the BLM's 270 million acres.
"We are very pleased with the selection of Bob Abbey for Director of the Bureau of Land Management," said Richard Moe president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. "As a former BLM State Director and through his recent service on the National Conservation System Foundation Board of Directors, he has demonstrated an outstanding record of preserving historic and cultural resources on public lands. If confirmed, he will also be the first Director to lead the BLM with America's newest congressionally codified conservation system-the National Landscape Conservation System.
"There are significant challenges on federal public lands managed by BLM, and the National Trust is looking forward to working with Bob Abbey to address them," Moe continued. "Chief among these is the critical need for additional funding for cultural resource surveys. Only about seven percent of BLM land has been surveyed for cultural resources, meaning that for the vast majority of BLM land, we have no idea what's out there. Other key priorities are the need to protect cultural resources while developing solar and wind energy, and working with Congress to reform the outdated 1872 Mining Law."
The National Trust for Historic Preservation, a privately-funded nonprofit organization, works to save America’s historic places to enrich our future. www.PreservationNation.org
