Byron Loosle

Byron Loosle became Division Chief for National Conservation Lands in October 2019. He was temporarily assigned to be the Bureau’s Tribal Liaison Officer in February 2021.

As Division Chief Byron leads a staff that develops policy, budget guidance, and oversight for the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) National Conservation Lands. The BLM's National Conservation Lands currently includes over 900 units covering about 33 million acres designated by Congress and the President to conserve special features, from winding rivers to mountain vistas. The National Conservation Lands offer the American people exceptional opportunities for hunting, solitude, wildlife viewing, fishing, history exploration, scientific research and a wide range of traditional uses. The BLM manages these public lands for the benefit of current and future generations, supporting conservation as a part of the BLM's multiple-use mission. This means respecting the ties that native and traditional communities have to public lands, as well as being welcoming of diverse interests and uses.

Prior to the BLM’s reorganization Byron was the Division Chief for the Division of Cultural and Paleontological Resources, and Tribal Consultation for six years. During his tenure there he oversaw development and the release in 2016 of the BLM’s 1780 Tribal Relations manual and its accompanying handbook H-1780-1 Improving and Sustaining Tribal Relations. These documents represented a major change in BLM philosophy and approach to tribal consultation.

Byron came to BLM’s headquarters from the Utah State Office where he was the state archaeologist and tribal liaison officer. For seventeen years he was the forest archaeologist and tribal liaison on the Ashley National Forest in northeastern Utah and southern Wyoming. Trained as an archaeologist, Byron has extensive field experience in Utah, Kansas, Wyoming, Costa Rica, and Nevada.

An avid outdoorsman Byron finds time to hike in and photograph the many wild areas near his home. Throughout his career he as mentored and trained over seventy-five young people. He feels it is critical to foster young, underappreciated talent and give them the opportunity for success.

Byron graduated from Brigham Young University and has a doctorate degree from the University of Kansas. His wife Denene and he have six adult children and five grandchildren.

Byron Loosle

Division Chief, National Conservation Lands
Bureau of Land Management

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