DENVER -- Bureau of Land Management (BLM) veteran Jamie Connell has been named the new director of the BLM’s Colorado State Office in Denver.

BLM Deputy Director Brian Steed announced the appointment noting “Jamie brings a wealth of service and leadership experience to her new role. She has been at the forefront of some of our most important initiatives, and the expertise she’s developed will continue to benefit the BLM and the Colorado communities and constituencies we serve.”

Connell, a 33-year BLM veteran, has served for nearly two years as head of the BLM Oregon/Washington State Office, based in Portland, Oregon. Connell also served as BLM State Director for Montana and the Dakotas from 2010 to 2016.

In her new capacity, Connell will oversee more than 8.3 million acres of public land and 27 million acres of federal mineral estate in Colorado, ranging from alpine tundra, colorful canyons and sagebrush steppe to mountains rising more than 14,000 feet above sea level. Most BLM public lands are concentrated on Colorado’s Western Slope.

“Greg did an outstanding job leading the Colorado Office while the state director’s chair was vacant, and we owe him our thanks for providing stability and direction during this critical period,” Steed said.

Connell, a native of Butte, Montana, received her bachelor of science degree in Petroleum Engineering from Montana Tech in 1985, when she began her BLM career as a petroleum engineer in Miles City, Montana. Connell’s managerial experience includes stints for the BLM and the U.S. Forest Service in locations across the West, including Great Falls and Malta, Montana; Boise, Idaho; and the cities of Montrose, Silverthorne, Glenwood Springs, and Grand Junction, all in Colorado.

Connell and her husband, John, enjoy hiking, skiing, canoeing, upland bird hunting, and fly fishing.