Where do you work and how does your job fulfill the BLM mission?

My office manages the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska (aka NPR-A), which includes 23 million acres of Alaska’s western Arctic. I coordinate BLM’s NPR-A Subsistence Advisory Panel to ensure oil and gas lessees and permittees consult directly with potentially affected communities. And I regularly meet with residents and tribal governments in the NPR-A about land management issues.

What previous experience/education prepared you for your job?

For my doctoral research at University of Alaska Fairbanks, I traveled the western arctic coast by sailing a canoe over the course of two seasons and participated in community activities such as hunting and fishing trips. This field work was a fantastic way to meet people and learn about the land and the history of the Arctic North Slope. I was also a PhD fellow in an interdisciplinary program with great attention to climate change in Alaska and sustainable land management.

What is the best thing about your job?

To me, the greatest thing about Alaska is the state’s powerful and rich array of Alaska Natives living a rural lifestyle, hunting and fishing in their traditional homelands. Those residents generously share that experience with others who respect it.

Photo by Bob Wick, BLM