BLM Realigns Law Enforcement Program to Enhance Operations

The Bureau of Land Management today announced the realignment of its Office of Law Enforcement and Security (OLES) headquartered in Washington, D.C. The OLES program has remained largely unchanged since its inception nearly 40 years ago, and the realignment, effective immediately, is designed to improve program efficiency and effectiveness bureauwide by realigning jurisdictions and responsibilities formerly carried out by 11 special agents-in-charge (SAC) located across the country. The realignment is consistent with the Department of the Interior policy and does not affect program operations for rangers stationed in the field and managed by the BLM’s state offices.

“As our country’s population grows and the use of public lands has risen, we have seen a significant increase in serious criminal activity on the National System of Public Lands,” said Mike Pool, BLM deputy director of operations. “The BLM’s Office of Law Enforcement and Security is faced with growing challenges in its attempt to support not only public and employee safety and health, but also the protection of natural, cultural, and historic resources.”

Through the realignment, there are now five regions with one SAC based in each of the regions -- Sacramento, Calif. (Region 1); Portland, Ore. (Region 2); Salt Lake City, Utah (Region 3); Denver, Colo. (Region 4); and Santa Fe, New Mex. (Region 5). The realignment provides for 12 first-line supervisory assistants to special agents-in-charge (ASACs), who work under the SACs and greatly expand the BLM’s investigative capacity. ASACs also assist SACs with managing an increasingly complex program by supervising a growing number of field agents and acting as investigative liaison to BLM state directors. Additionally, chief rangers, formerly known as state staff rangers, now have expanded leadership roles and increased ability to address issues they face as technical experts and liaisons with other uniformed law enforcement agencies.

“All of these changes are intended to benefit the nation’s public lands,” said William Woody, director of the OLES. “This streamlining not only facilitates multi-jurisdictional law enforcement efforts, but most importantly, provides a way for us to develop personnel seeking to grow their skills and careers in the OLES program.”