According to the Interior Department, officials are scouting a new location for BLM headquarters nearer the terrain it manages: 388,000 square miles, 99 percent of which can be found in a dozen Western states. Look for an announcement in September that Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, New Mexico, or Utah will play host to the new HQ. The move represents one facet of a department-wide reorganization. Twelve new unified regions will come from consolidating 49 regional boundaries of the existing eight sub-agencies. In May, Interior Secretary David Bernhardt asked Congress for $10.5 million to carry out the restructuring. Another Washington-based agency — the US Geological Survey — may likewise venture westward with Denver as its new home. The nation’s largest water, earth, and biological science agency works with federal, state, and local entities along with universities and private industry to monitor earthquakes, publish maps, and collect scientific data.
Click here to read more.