The move of the Bureau of Land Management headquarters back to Washington, D.C., from Grand Junction still stings, but it may not be as big of a blow to the community as we originally feared with the Biden administration announcing plans for 36 jobs here at the newly created western headquarters.

Interior Department spokeswoman Melissa Schwartz on Tuesday confirmed to The Daily Sentinel that the 36 jobs will be based in Grand Junction, according to reporting by the Sentinel’s Dennis Webb. This is close to the 40 positions the Trump administration proposed for Grand Junction, and there may be more to come.

In an email from the BLM’s director, Tracy Stone-Manning, to BLM staff on Tuesday, she wrote, “We anticipate posting additional positions (to be based at the Grand Junction office) soon to reflect that office’s leadership role in BLM’s outdoor recreation, conservation, clean energy, and scientific missions, as well as outreach and Tribal consultation.”

This is welcome news and hopefully will accomplish what the Trump administration’s Interior Secretary David Bernhardt said was its reason for the move, which we agreed with – that public lands are best managed by people who live near them.

Stone-Manning said in her email that the BLM’s National Conservation Lands and Community Partnerships assistant director and deputy assistant director positions “will anchor the BLM’s Western headquarters in Grand Junction.”

That’s a good move, since partnership between local governments, nonprofits and public lands managers is something we do very well here in Mesa County and across western Colorado. However, it is disappointing that nearly all BLM senior leadership will be based in Washington, D.C.

It doesn’t make for much of a western headquarters if virtually none of the top decision makers are here. We also appreciate Rep. Lauren Boebert for continuing to fight for keeping the actual headquarters here.

“The Bureau of Land Management Headquarters and associated jobs should stay in the West where they belong,” Boebert said in a news release.

Her continued advocacy may be futile at this point, but her position was shared by a bipartisan coalition of Colorado lawmakers. Perhaps if she stopped sticking her finger in the eyes of her colleagues, her arguments would land with more effect.

With continued pressure from our congressional delegation, perhaps the Biden administration will see the value of having an increased presence of senior BLM leadership based in western Colorado, even if it doesn’t have the distinction of official headquarters.

The name isn’t the point. The point is to have decision makers face the reality of their decisions in their own backyard, not 2,000 miles away. This administration is taking a small step in that direction, but could and should do more.

Grand Junction Daily Sentinel editorial board