Las Cruces, N.M. – Twenty students and recent graduates from universities and colleges across the nation have been selected to participate in the third National Student Congress on Public Policy for Land Management to be held in Las Cruces on September 8 -11, 2016. Sponsored by the Public Lands Foundation (PLF) and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Las Cruces District, the Student Congress will be held at the Ramada Inn Hotel and Conference Center on 201 E. University Avenue.
The students selected for this year’s event includes: Claire Montoya – New Mexico State University; Colleen Boge, Anna Jorgensen, Mark Kruse – Prescott College; Mackenzie Case, Erik Olsen, Jared Tally and Kim Young – Boise State University; Alyssa Dawson – University of Oregon; JD Figura and Smith Wells – Montana State University; Aaron Cinque – North Carolina Agricultural & Technology; Sam Smith –University of Colorado; Brandon Flake – Utah State University; Sydney White – West Virginia University; Jermaine Moore – BLM National Training Center and Claire Martini – Uplift Program.
Several students from the 2014 Student Congress will also participate in the event, including Jake Palma who is employed by the BLM Price Field Office in Utah as a planning and environmental coordinator; Julia Sittig who is employed by the Southwest Decision Resources in Tucson as a Program Associate; and Molly O’Grady who is employed by the Hawaii VINE Project as a Biological Technician.
The students will meet with policy makers and public land professionals/advocates to discuss public land policy in the face of a changing environment. The four-day event will also focus discussions on the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA) of 1976, which is 40 years old this year, and changed the mission of the BLM from land disposal to land retention and management and conservation.
According to Mike Ferguson, PLF Student Congress coordinator, the students will explore questions, such as: What is the relevance of FLPMA to today’s youth? What do multiple use and sustained yield mean in the current social and political climate? How can the current authorities provided in FLPMA be used to deal with current and emerging land issues? And what policy considerations should be given to the perspective of today’s youth? “The PLF and BLM are very interested to hear what new and innovative perspectives these students have to offer,” Ferguson said. “In addition, we are eager to learn how, as the next generation of managers, they’ll address the current and future challenges of public land and resource management,” he added.
The students will also have an opportunity to visit some of the 5.5 million acres of public lands in the BLM Las Cruces District. District Manager Bill Childress and staff will host the students for a day-long field trip to public lands in Doña Ana, Sierra and Luna counties, illustrating some of the multiple-use programs managed by the BLM. “We’re pleased to be part of this year’s Student Congress and eager to share some of the landscapes and resources we manage in southern New Mexico,” said Childress. “The public lands the participants will visit provide a comprehensive picture of how FLPMA and other laws and regulations have contributed to their specific management, including: recreation, renewable energy, cultural resources, mining and grazing and wildlife habitat,” he added.
Throughout the event, the students will meet in small groups to craft responses to the questions on the future of public land management. The work the students produce will be presented to the PLF and BLM at the end of the Student Congress, and later be presented to BLM Director Neil Kornze and Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewel for consideration and guidance of future public land policy.
For more information on the Student Congress schedule and participants, please contact Mike Ferguson at mferguson@publicland.org.