The Bureau of Land Management announced Jason O'Neal will serve as the official director of the Office of Law Enforcement and Security, according to a BLM news release.
In June 2019, O'Neal assumed the position of temporary director, bringing with him 27 years of law enforcement and leadership experience, earned both in the field and in the nation's capital, Greenwire reports. The Bureau's news release reported he held that position from June 2019 to early 2020. He then served as the director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs' Office of Justice Services.
“Given his several decades of relevant law enforcement and leadership experience, I can think of few people as qualified to help direct our critical law enforcement work,” BLM Director Tracy Stone-Manning stated in the release. “We’re excited to welcome Jason back to the BLM, where he’ll lead a team of dedicated professionals who are ensuring public safety and supporting our multiple-use mission across millions of acres of public lands.”
As the acting director, he supervised approximately 270 rangers and special agents tasked with upholding federal laws and safeguarding natural resources across 245 million acres of public land managed by BLM according to Greenwire.
“Jason is a strong and trusted leader who has made great contributions to law enforcement operations across the Department,” said Interior Department’s Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public Safety, Resource Protection and Emergency Services Lisa Branum in the news release. “I congratulate him on his new role with BLM and I am grateful that he remains a part of Interior's law enforcement family.”
The BLM's website states its law enforcement officers protect public lands, visitors and staff by collaborating with state and local authorities on investigations involving wildland fires, theft of mineral resources and other violations. They also collaborate with state and local officials to keep the public safe during large-scale recreational activities.
