New Oregon-Wash. BLM director named

Bureau of Land Management Acting Director Mike Pool announced Monday the selection of Jerome E. Perez as the BLM’s new director for the agency’s state office in Oregon and Washington.

Perez is currently the Deputy Regional Forester for the U.S. Forest Service’s Intermountain Region in Ogden, Utah. His starting date is yet to be determined. He succeeds former Oregon/Washington State Director Ed Shepard.

“I am pleased that Jerry will be bringing 20 years of diverse and wide-ranging natural resources management experience to the BLM in Oregon and Washington,” Pool said. “Jerry has the background, knowledge, and a proven track record to lead our efforts in the Pacific Northwest in an era of immense challenge and opportunity for the public lands.”

Perez will be offering his experiences specific to natural resources as well as knowledge in planning, budget, and communications, at the local, regional, and national levels. He has worked cooperatively with the BLM on many of the forest management issues confronting the Pacific Northwest.

“I am quite honored to be selected for this position and entrusted with the responsibilities that come with being the State Director for Oregon/Washington, ” Perez said. “I look forward to working with the public who have a vested interest in these valuable lands, as well as the employees who are responsible for the stewardship of these resources.”

As the Deputy Regional Forester of the U.S. Forest Service’s Intermountain Region, Perez shares management responsibility for some 34 million acres of National Forests in California, Idaho, Nevada, Utah and Wyoming. His previous positions with the Forest Service include Forest Supervisor of the Daniel Boone National Forest in Kentucky, Deputy Forest Supervisor of the Stanislaus National Forest in California, and National Litigation Coordinator in Washington, D.C. In addition, he has served as a Brookings Institution Fellow in the United States Senate and with the Peace Corps in Ghana.

Perez, a native of Poughkeepsie, New York, holds a JD from The Catholic University of America and a Bachelor of Science in Forest Resources Management from the West Virginia University. Perez and his wife Rita, who also served in the Peace Corps, look forward to making the Portland area their home. An avid bicyclist, we look forward to introducing him to the nationally renowned bike-friendly city of Portland.