The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) today announced that Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar has appointed three new members and re-appointed a fourth to the California Desert District’s citizen Desert Advisory Council (DAC), which advises Interior’s BLM on public land issues. The DAC was established by Congress through the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976.

“The BLM’s Desert Advisory Council helps ensure that the management of our public lands and resources is guided by a wide range of perspectives and by the input of citizens and local communities,” said Secretary Salazar. “I welcome our new and returning DAC members and commend them for their service on behalf of America’s public lands. Their input and recommendations will help us restore our treasured landscapes and ensure that we are harnessing the benefits of these lands in a balanced way."

The council, composed of citizens chosen for their expertise in various fields of natural resource use and management, help the bureau carry out its stewardship of 11 million acres of public lands in the California Desert. The agency, which manages more land than any other federal agency, has 24 resource advisory councils across the West, where most BLM-managed land is located. The DAC consists of 15 members with an interest in public land management, such as ranchers, conservationists, outdoor recreationists, tribal officials, state and local government officials, scientists, and others.

“DAC members come from different backgrounds and reflect a wide range of perspectives,” said BLM California State Director, Jim Kenna. “Their diversity results in a balanced outlook that the bureau needs as it carries out its multiple-use mission. The BLM is responsible for managing these various uses – such as outdoor recreation, livestock grazing, mineral development, and energy production – while conserving the land’s natural, historical, and cultural resources.”

The newly appointed members of DAC are:
• Donald F. Houston, Jr. of Los Angeles, representing non-renewable resources
• Paul R. O’Boyle of San Diego, representing transportation/rights-of way
• Jessica M. Reilly of San Francisco, representing renewable energy.

Re-appointed to a second three-year term is April L. Sall of Pioneertown, who represents the public-at-large.