New BLM Director of Public Lands
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — The U.S. Bureau of Land Management has named a new director to oversee its administration of public lands in Montana and the Dakotas.
BLM acting director Brian Steed said John Mehlhoff will assume the Billings-based post on May 12.
He’ll be responsible for management of about 13,000 square miles of public lands and more than 700,000 square miles of federal mineral estate in the three states.
Mehlhoff worked most recently as program director for the Office of Natural Resources Revenue in Denver.
Prior to that, he spent almost 30 years with the BLM, including as associate state director in Colorado, field manager, staff adviser and program lead for the fluid mineral program in Washington.
Mehlhoff is a North Dakota native and a graduate of Montana Tech in Butte.