BLM's Colorado Move Will Bring More Than 50 Jobs To Lakewood

LAKEWOOD, CO — The Bureau of Land Management's relocation to Colorado will bring 54 jobs to Lakewood, the agency said. While its headquarters will be in Grand Junction, only 27 positions will be located there.

The new positions in Lakewood will be housed in the Federal Center.

“Welcome to Lakewood,” Mayor Adam Paul said in a statement. “Lakewood has a rich history of working with the U.S. Department of the Interior and Bureau of Land Management and we are pleased that they will be entrusting us with more of their talented employees.”

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Lobbyists have spent years pushing for the agency to move to Colorado. They estimated the move would bring several hundred jobs to the state, but so far only 85 positions have been announced. Regardless, local leaders and officials are celebrating.

“Relocating the Bureau of Land Management to the Western Slope of Colorado will bring the bureau’s decision makers closer to the people they serve and the public lands they manage,” U.S. Sen. Cory Garner said earlier this week.

Gardner first proposed the idea of moving BLM headquarters at a senate hearing in 2016.

"Government is best when it is closer and more accountable to the American people, and relocating the directorate of the BLM to Western Colorado will ensure our public lands are protected for many future generations to enjoy,” Gardner said.

The Center for Western Priorities, a local conservation organization, said the move is simply a public relations stunt.

“More than 90 percent of BLM staff already work outside of Washington, DC, and the agency has dozens of offices across the West," said Jennifer Rokala, the group’s executive director, in a news release. "Moving senior BLM leadership would only turn the agency into an afterthought, rather than a core piece of the Interior Department."

“Since Interior Secretary Bernhardt is stonewalling the congressional committees that would approve a spending request like this, it’s clear this is not a serious proposal. It’s merely an attempt to drain the Interior Department of career officials who have expertise in running the agency.”

In total, 222 positions are being moved from Washington to cities across the West, including Utah, Arizona, New Mexico and Nevada.