Office of the Secretary

For Immediate Release: August 27, 2001

Contact: Mark Pfeifle 202-208-6416

Secretary Norton Praises Intention to Nominate Kathleen Clarke

as Director of the Bureau of Land Management

(WASHINGTON) - Interior Secretary Gale Norton today praised President Bush's intention to nominate Kathleen Clarke, executive director of the Utah Department of Natural Resources, as director of the Bureau of Land Management. If nominated, Clarke will be subject to Senate confirmation.

"Kathleen Clarke will bring a highly successful record of innovative public lands management to BLM," Norton said. "Kathleen's background and experience demonstrate a holistic, integrated approach to natural resource conservation. Her broad experience will prove invaluable to helping Interior protect our public lands for future generations of Americans to enjoy."

Clarke was instrumental in working with the Utah legislature to secure $3 million per year in funding to protect and recover endangered species. Clarke also listened to and worked with diverse interests to formulate the Great Salt Lake Resource Management Plan, a comprehensive program to conserve the lake's resources.

Clarke has served as executive director of the Utah Department of Natural Resources since 1998. Before that, she served as the department's deputy director, starting in 1993. With nearly two-thirds of Utah's 57 million acres managed by the federal government, the Utah DNR is challenged with implementing a land and resource ethic that not only accounts for state and private lands, but also works in a partnership with federal land managers.

As executive director of Utah's DNR, Clarke worked to meld seven diverse resource divisions into a unified, cohesive and interdisciplinary team that balances the needs of citizens with conscientious resource stewardship and management.

Clarke worked for Rep. James V. Hansen (R-Utah) from 1987 to 1993 as director of constituent services and executive director of Hansen's Ogden, Utah office. Prior to that, she was co-owner of a construction and real estate business in Kaysville, Utah. She also served as staff assistant in the Washington, D.C., office of Sen. Wallace F. Bennett (R-Utah).

The Bureau of Land Management director is in charge of administering 264 million acres of U.S. public lands, located primarily in 12 western states. Clarke graduated cum laude with a bachelor of arts degree in political science from Utah State in 1970. If confirmed, Clarke will be the first woman director of the BLM.

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