Mouritsen named acting BLM state director

Karen Mouritsen has been named acting state director for the Bureau of Land Management in Alaska, BLM said Sept. 5. The agency said Alaska State Director Bud Cribley, who has headed the agency in Alaska for nearly 7 years, is transferring to Washington, D.C., where he will be senior advisor for energy for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Mouritsen was named to the post Aug. 17, BLM said. She is currently BLM eastern states director and has served as acting New Mexico state director and acting associate district manager for the BLM’s Las Vegas, Nevada, and Medford, Oregon, district offices.

Mouritsen has also served as deputy assistant director for Energy, Minerals and Realty Management, where she was responsible for helping develop agency policies and regulations for BLM’s energy and minerals programs.

“I’m looking forward to serving in Alaska and exploring its unique opportunities of public land management and working collaboratively with such a diverse set of stakeholders,” Mouritsen said. “Having visited Alaska only briefly in the past, I look forward to exploring in-depth all of Alaska’s issues and opportunities.”

Prior to joining BLM, Mouritsen worked in the private sector as a petroleum engineer and was an attorney in the Office of the Solicitor for the U.S. Department of the Interior.

Cribley came to Alaska in 2010 and is the second longest-serving state director at BLM Alaska. He joined BLM in 1975 as a forestry technician in the Arizona Strip District in northwest Arizona and has more than 40 years of service with the agency.

“I’ve enjoyed a multitude of situations since my arrival in November 2010,” Cribley said. “It has been a privilege to serve and more forward many projects of significant importance to Alaska and the Nation, such as signing the Record of Decision for the Greater Mooses Tooth 1 development securing the first oil production on federal lands in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska. Most importantly, I have had the privilege of working with some of the most dedicated and professional individuals, both inside and outside BLM, who truly care about Alaska and all it has to offer.”

- Petroleum News