Interior sets area council

GRAND JUNCTION I Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewel announced Monday the 2013 appointments to the citizen-based Northwest Resource Advisory Council, which advises the Bureau of Land Management on public land issues in northwestern Colorado.
Jewel named five appointments to the Northwest RAC, whose 15 members represent a balance of public land resources and uses.
Carl Conner of Grand Junction is a new member representing archaeological and historical interests. Conner is the president of the Dominguez Anthropological Research Group. He has worked as an archaeologist in western Colorado for 30 years and has personally documented more than 3,000 archaeological sites on BLM lands.
John Justman of Fruita is a new member representing elected officials. Commissioner Justman is a Mesa County Commissioner active in public land management issues. He has operated a family farm near Fruita since 1973.
Wes McStay of Craig was reappointed as a livestock permittee representative. McStay is a career rancher in Moffat County who is active in natural resource and public lands issues. He has worked closely with the BLM on the Little Snake Field Office Resource Management Plan Revision, and has been active in working groups for Greater Sage-Grouse and Sharp-Tailed Grouse.
Joe Neuhof of Grand Junction is a new member representing the public-at-large. Neuhof is the executive director of the Colorado Canyons Association and has worked on public lands issues in western Colorado for nearly a decade. He previously served on the Northwest RAC subcommittee for the Grand Junction Field Office and most recently served on the Dominguez-Escalante National Conservation Area Advisory Council.
Barbara Vasquez of Cowdrey was reappointed representing dispersed recreation. Vasquez is active in public lands issues. She has worked with the North Platte Basin Roundtable and has served as chair of the Division of Wildlife-sponsored North Park Focus Area Committee.
The Northwest RAC provides advice to the BLM Colorado Northwest District, including the Colorado River Valley Field Office in Silt, the Grand Junction Field Office, the Kremmling Field Office, the Little Snake Field Office in Craig and the White River Field Office in Meeker.
For more information, visit www.blm.gov/co/st/en/BLM_Resources/racs/nwrac.html.
The BLM, which manages more land than any other federal agency, has 28 RACs across the West, where most BLM-managed land is located. Each RAC consists of 10 to 15 members with an interest in public land management. Members are appointed by the Secretary of the Interior to serve an initial three-year term and may be reappointed to serve additional three-year terms.
The diverse membership of each RAC is aimed at achieving a balanced outlook that the BLM needs for its mission, which is to manage the public lands for multiple uses.