The Bureau of Land Management has selected a natural-resources specialist with two decades of experience in federal environmental service to manage about 250,000 acres of wilderness in northern California, the agency announced earlier this month.
Collin Ewing takes over as manager of the Arcata field office, on the north coast of California, on Aug. 8, according to the June 6 announcement. Currently, Ewing serves as manager of the BLM's Dominguez-Escalante and McInnis Canyons national conservation areas, a position he's held for the past nine years, the announcement states.
Ewing, a Colorado native who told the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel that he "never has lived outside the Mountain Time Zone," earned a degree in rangeland ecology from Colorado State University. His federal service includes as "a rangeland management specialist, fish and wildlife biologist, planning and environmental coordinator, and lastly, as a national conservation area manager," the BLM states in the announcement.
"Collin brings experience across a wide variety of natural resource management disciplines to his new position as Arcata field manager," BLM Northern California District Manager Dereck Wilson said in the announcement.
"In addition to working with our agency, he has diverse experience with the Forest Service and the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service," Wilson said. "He has shown a great ability to develop and maintain partnerships, an important attribute for working on the North Coast where partnerships are critical in managing natural and cultural resources."
In a June 10 interview with the Daily Sentinal, Ewing cited several projects that were successful because of the level of public engagement with the local BLM office, including working with an advisory council to develop a resource-management plan for Dominguez-Escalante that had "a lot of support."
The BLM states that experience "will be immediately beneficial" because the Arcata field office is currently working with the office in Redding to develop a new resource-management plan for BLM lands in northwest California.
Ewing will supervise approximately 30 staffers and oversee stewardship of 250,000 acres in the Headwaters Forest Reserve, the King Range National Conservation Area, parts of the California Coastal National Monument and seven wilderness areas. The land is located across parts of Del Norte, Humboldt, Mendocino and Trinity counties in northern California. Ewing takes over for Molly Brown, now with the BLM's Northern California District, according to the BLM report.
“My wife, Amanda, our two teenage children and I are thrilled to be moving to the North Coast.” Ewing said in the announcement. “I am really looking forward to working with the local staff and community partners to steward the amazing landscapes overseen by the Arcata Field Office.”
