Open house with new BLM district manager set for Tuesday

An open house to welcome the U.S. Bureau of Land Management’s new Carson City district manager, Bernadette Lovato, is set for 5-7 p.m. today at the Carson City District Office, 5665 Morgan Mill Road.

She manages more than 100 employees and about 4.8 million acres of federal public lands in western Nevada and Eastern California. Her first day of work was May 5.

According to a news release:

Lovato began her federal career in 1990 with the National Park Service and has worked in a variety of places for the past 23 years. Before coming to Carson City, she managed the BLM’s Bishop field office in California. She also worked for the BLM in Arizona.

She attended New Mexico State University and completed the BLM Emerging Leader Program, a yearlong intensive training program for future BLM leaders. She has two adult children, Valerie and James.

“The BLM deals with complex issues as we preserve multiple uses and protect resources,” Lovato said in the news release. “I encourage the public to attend our open house and welcome an opportunity to meet the community and hear any concerns.”

State BLM director Amy Lueders praised Lovato, saying her “many years of natural resource experience will be a tremendous asset to us as we move ahead with our resource plans and implementation.”

Lovato replaces Chris McAlear, who last fall became the assistant director of the National Lands Conservation System and moved to Washington, D.C.