New BLM director for Nevada begins position

RENO — The new state director for the U.S. Bureau of Land Management in Nevada has spent more than two decades working for federal land management agencies in Washington, D.C., and the West.

Jon Raby was officially sworn in Monday by Brian Steed, BLM’s deputy director for policy.

Raby has worked for the BLM in Oregon, Montana and Washington, D.C. He also worked for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and U.S. Forest Service.

In his new role, he’ll oversee about 925 employees with an annual budget of about $108 million in Nevada, which has BLM’s largest mining and wild horse programs, and its largest fire program outside of Alaska.