The talk out of the Bureau of Land Management about the future of its now western headquarters in Grand Junction sounds good to us, but talk is really all we’ve ever had around the agency’s move here. So far we’ve seen little action.

The BLM’s director, Tracy Stone-Manning, last week provided details on the agency’s plans, writing to employees in an email that for the first time the agency “will staff the Grand Junction office to full capacity,” according to reporting by The Daily Sentinel’s Dennis Webb. This is after more than two years and with two administrations promising to move dozens of jobs to this area.

Still, the additional details about what kind of jobs are coming is encouraging. Stone-Manning said the Grand Junction office will include a new senior executive service position who will work closely with her and other top-level BLM staff as a liaison in the West.

That has always been the most important argument for moving the headquarters here, or now having a significant presence with a western headquarters: land managers need to be near the land they are managing. This is something we have argued and the bipartisan coalition of elected leaders calling for the move here have argued for as well.

In a joint statement Thursday, U.S. Sens. John Hickenlooper and Michael Bennet, both D-Colo., reacted positively to the latest details of BLM’s western headquarters plans.

“We’re glad to see the BLM following through on its commitment to a robust Western Headquarters in Grand Junction,” they said in a joint statement. “Staffing the office to full capacity and locating key leadership positions in the West will strengthen public lands management and give our communities a seat at the table. We’ll keep working with the BLM to ensure the Western HQ’s continued growth.”

According to the BLM, there will be at least 36 jobs located in Grand Junction, including the new senior executive service position. However, it sounds like there may be more coming as well, which is welcome news.

“In addition, the Grand Junction/Mesa County region’s outdoor recreation economy and experience within the heart of a traditional fossil fuel energy economy makes Grand Junction an ideal location for continuing to develop approaches for managing for the interplay of energy development, recreation and conservation,” Stone-Manning wrote. “The BLM’s National Conservation Lands and Community Partnerships program is well-suited to anchor the western office of the headquarters, which will also include positions from other programs.”

We couldn’t agree more. One thing our local BLM office does well is partnerships. There are few projects that take place in this valley on public lands that don’t include robust partnerships between the BLM, local advocacy groups, municipalities and others. This is an area where the national BLM would be in a position to learn from our local experience. We’re glad the leadership team recognized this and is making it a big part of its plans here.

There are other programs and teams they are discussing making a move to Grand Junction, but it sounds like a lot could change as BLM grows this office. We’re just happy they are committed to having a significant presence here.

Over the past few years we’ve heard big promises made about the BLM’s presence in this community. The latest plans sound great. We’ll watch and see how they actually unfold here in western Colorado.

Grand Junction Daily Sentinel Editorial Board