OPPORTUNITY AND CHALLENGE The Story of BLM

This history could not have been written without the cooperation and encouragement of many BLM employees. In particular, we wish to thank Director Robert Burford and the Bureau Management Team for their continued support of this project. Director Burford took a personal interest in seeing that a history of BLM was completed while all of its former Directors were available to contribute to it. He gave us free reign in producing the book and extended us every possible courtesy. Service Center Director Bob Moore provided valuable insights and contacts for further information, but most important, encouraged us when we needed it most.

Many Bureau employees and retirees participated in this project. In BLM we want to thank the following offices and people: Washington—Tom Allen, Dave Almand, Linda Brooks, Don Cabrera, Bill Condit, John Douglas, Larry Godwin, Charlie Grymes, Patricia Harvey, Bob Lawton, Tim Locke, John Moeller, Hank Nolden, Del Price, Eleanor Schwartz, Billy Templeton and June Wrona; Service Center—Brian Bernard and Judith Herrington; Alaska—Pat Bower, Mike Brown, Jim Ducker, and Dave Vickery; Arizona—Gordon Warren; California—Ron Hofman; Colorado—Andy Senti; Eastern States—Charlie Most; Idaho—Jack Sept and Del Vail; Montana—June Bailey, Cynthia Embretson, Bill Frey, Chuck Sigafoos, and Burt Williams; Nevada—Bob Stewart; New Mexico—Anne Jeffries; Oregon—Mark Ashton, Ed Ciliberti, Jeanne Glenn, and Art Oakley; Utah—James Parker; and Wyoming—Wayne Erickson, Larry Pomerinke, and Tim Monroe.

Retirees that assisted us were Dale Andrus, Roscoe E. Bell, Bob Buffington, Bob Jones, Jerry O'Callaghan, Russ Penny, Roger Robinson, Jim Scott, Irving Senzel, George Turcott, Clair Whitlock, and Edwin "Moose" Zaidlicz. Because our time was limited in completing this project, there were many additional people we should have contacted but didn't—to them we apologize.

Special thanks also go to BLM's former Directors who spoke and corresponded with us. In addition, Mike Harvey, Chief Counsel to the Senate's Energy and Natural Resources Committee, provided us with important legislative details on BLM in the 1960s and 1970s. Information on BLM program activities in the 1980s was not available in the published sources we used for other chapters. We particularly wish to thank Assistant Director Dean Stepanek and his program staffs in Washington for providing information and suggested writeups for the 1980s chapter.

To Service Center employees we owe a great debt. Linda Hill, Mitzi Maxwell, Bobby G. Miller, and Carolyn Tarpley transcribed hours of oral interviews. The library staff ordered volumes of reading material, providing hard-to-locate sources on short notice; we thank Sandra Bowers, Teresa Day, Barbara Kiassen, and April Kobayashi for patience and assistance beyond the call of duty. Photo Lab personnel provided high-quality camera work under tight deadlines. Linda Graham, Linda Hill, Barbara McArdle, Andrea Ortega, and Carolyn Tarpley provided hours and hours of top-quality typing. Invaluable research assistance was provided by S. Calvin Riley. The many details of printing procurement were handled by Carl Anderson.

We appreciate the assistance of Richard Crawford at the National Archives in Washington, plus Joel Barker and Eileen Bolger at the Denver Branch. We also want to thank our supervisors, Mary Gaylord and Roger Molinar, for keeping our schedules free so that we could complete this project. Special thanks go to our editors, Janet Poorman and Robert Woemer, and our proofreaders, Karen Miranda and Carolyn Roth, who provided significant editorial assistance and made this history more readable.