Sarah E. Wisely has been named director of the Utah State Office of the Bureau of Land Management -- the first woman to take the post, BLM Acting Director Tom Fry announced.
Wisely, a 22-year BLM veteran, comes from an acting director position in Alaska, where the agency manages more than 87 million acres of public land. She takes over for Bill Lamb, who retired in April after four years as director to spend more time with his family."I look forward to the challenges of this new position," Wisely said in a release. "Utah has such incredible resources and people, it's an honor to be able to work with them."
Wisely, 49, was born in Atchison, Kan., and, except for her tenure in Alaska, has worked solely in the Southwest. She worked as an area manager in southwest Colorado, and as chief of public affairs in New Mexico.
In Alaska, her responsibilities included managing 700 permanent employees and a budget of more than $60 million.
"Utahns will find in Sally someone who understands public land issues and places a premium on good working relationships with all who use or care about the public lands," Fry said Wednesday.
Before joining the BLM, Wisely taught at Rough Rock Demonstration School on the Navajo reservation in northeastern Arizona. She has a master's degree in outdoor recreational planning from the University of New Mexico and a bachelor's from Kansas State.