Robert Abbey was confirmed as Director of the Bureau of Land Management on August 7, 2009. Abbey served for more than 32 years in public service, working with state and federal land management agencies before retiring from the federal government in July 2005.
He served eight years as the Nevada State Director for the U. S. Bureau of Land Management, providing direction and oversight for 48 million acres of public land managed by the bureau in the state. He oversaw a staff of 700 employees in eight field offices and the state office and managed an annual operating budget of $51 million.
From 1999 through 2005, Abbey was the chairman of the Executive Committee for the implementation of the Southern Nevada Public Lands Management Act and oversaw the allocation of more than $1.5 billion in funds for resource management and environmental projects within the state.
During his federal career, Abbey was the principal agency proponent for the Great Basin Restoration Initiative, testifying before congressional committees and working with both the Director of the Bureau of Land Management and the Secretary of the Interior to elevate the status and funding levels for restoration activities in the Great Basin.
Abbey began his natural resource career with the Mississippi State Park Commission. He also served in a number of other federal positions, including as a natural resource researcher for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Vicksburg, Miss., Assistant District Manager in Yuma, Ariz.; Program Analyst in the BLM’s national budget office in Washington, D.C., District Manager for the BLM’s Jackson, Miss., office, which oversees natural resource and minerals management in 11 states in the Southeast; and as BLM’s Colorado Associate State Director.
Most recently, Abbey was a partner in a private consultant firm called Abbey, Stubbs, & Ford, LLC with offices in Las Vegas and Reno, Nev. He also continued his advocacy within the private sector as a member of the University of Nevada College of Agriculture Dean’s Advisory Committee and as a board member on several statewide and national non-profit organizations.
Abbey earned numerous performance awards during his career, including the prestigious Secretary of the Interior’s Executive Leadership Award in 2004. That same year he was recognized by the U.S. Senate with a certificate of commendation for his work on behalf of the Great Basin.
Abbey, a native of Clarksdale, Miss., is a graduate of the University of Southern Mississippi where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree. He and his wife Linda have been married for 32 years and have one daughter, Leigh.
Bio and Photo Source: http://www.doi.gov/whoweare/bobabbey.cfm