Jamison, Cy

President Bush's nomination of Delos Cy Jamison, an aide to former Interior Secretary James G. Watt and an adviser to a ferociously anti-environmental member of Congress, as new chief of the Bureau of Land Management has dismayed environmentalists.

They fear that Jamison, if approved by the Senate, will follow the line pursued the last eight years by current Director Robert F. Burford, a Colorado cattleman who is accused of starving the bureau's major environmental programs.

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President Bush's nomination of Delos Cy Jamison, an aide to former Interior Secretary James G. Watt and an adviser to a ferociously anti-environmental member of Congress, as new chief of the Bureau of Land Management has dismayed environmentalists.

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Ranchers, meanwhile, praised the selection of the 39-year-old Montana native as a sign that the Bush Administration will advance Reagan-era policies that opened public lands to widespread private development.

"Cy Jamison is a square shooter," said a friend in Billings, Mont., where Jamison once sat on the City Council. "I think it is wrong for anybody to say that he will be a puppet of the western grazing interests."

"Cy Jamison is a very ardent proponent of (an) agenda that is antithetical to conservation," said Debbie Sease of the Sierra Club. "He will continue to see BLM as an agency of and for the livestock and mining industries."

Jamison declined to return telephone calls seeking an interview for this story.

Burford came to Washington with a similar reputation, because as a Colorado legislator he promoted the Sagebrush Rebellion, a 1980 movement that sought to give public lands to the states and private developers.

Fined, Cited

Burford, who as a rancher has been fined and repeatedly cited for illegally trespassing on BLM land, pursues deregulation with such zeal that he is trying to void land-use plans and open 180 million acres to miners and ranchers.

The National Wildlife Federation has sued him, alleging that he broke the law by failing to notify Congress, hold public hearings or do an environmental study. The NWF is appealing a judge's decision to dismiss the suit on a technicality.

Jamison's agenda is less clear because as a congressional aide, he promoted only the philosophy of his congressional boss, Rep. Ron Marlenee (R-Mont.). In that capacity, Jamison earned conservationists' enmity for opposing wilderness issues while championing oil companies. Supporters praise him for representing the interests of Marlenee's conservative constituents.

Qualifications Questioned

Critics not only question Jamison's politics, but his qualifications to run an agency with 7,600 full-time employees and a $700-million budget.

"It's one thing to say the President should have his guy, which the Senate usually does," said Michael Scott of the Wilderness Society's Montana office. "But the Senate also has the responsibility to see he has the basic skills to manage a major federal agency. There's no indication he has had the experience to do that."

"Candidly, I guess he is untested as an administrator of that magnitude," said Will Brooke, a fellow Marlenee staff member who works with Jamison on the House Interior Committee. "I guess he'll have to prove himself."

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<a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/revolving/rev_summary.php?id=12615">http://www.opensecrets.org/revolving/rev_summary.php?id=12615</a> rev dr

Cy Jamison has served as a director since August 2011. He is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Jamison Group LLC, which advises private landowners regarding large land exchanges with the United States Federal Government. Prior to founding the Jamison Group in 2009, Mr. Jamison served as a Partner in the firm of Jamison and Sullivan, Inc. from 1994 to 2009, a diversified consulting firm that specialized in advising start-up companies regarding business development matters, lobbying members of the United States Congress and the Administration on behalf of local governments and educational institutions, and assisting companies with development of business opportunities in foreign countries. Mr. Jamison was appointed by President George H. W. Bush, and served from 1989 to 1993 as the National Director of the Bureau of Land Management, Department of the Interior. In that position, Mr. Jamison oversaw approximately 600 million acres of subsurface mineral estate owned by the Federal Government, primarily west of the Mississippi. Mr. Jamison was responsible for a budget totaling nearly $2.0 billion and a staff of over 10,000 employees. Major issues included environmental planning, mineral production, coal, oil and gas leasing, forestry, recreation, land management and planning. Mr. Jamison also served from 1981 to 1993 as the Legislative Advisor of the Interior and Insular Affairs Committee (renamed the Natural Resources Committee), United States House of Representatives. In that position, Mr. Jamison wrote proposed legislation, conducted oversight of Federal Agencies under the jurisdiction of the Committee and assisted in the development of policy relating to natural resources. The majority of Mr. Jamison’s duties focused on issues relating to the mining law, oil and gas leasing, coal leasing and reclamation, and both surface and subsurface water management. From 1971 to 1981 Mr. Jamison was a career employee of the Bureau of Land Management. Mr. Jamison holds a B.S. degree from Montana State University.

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March  2011</h1>

<p style="font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; text-transform: none; text-decoration: none; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;">Since 2009 to Present – Owner of the ‘Jamison Group LLC” with offices in Washington, DC and Billings, Montana.  The Jamison Group has been the lead on several large land exchanges in excess of 10,000 acres involving private landowners and the Federal Government.  These exchanges addressed the checkerboard ownership patterns and allow both to block up their holdings.  We are also the lead on exchanging several large Federal sand and gravel contracts held by private parties for other Federal assets in California.  The value of the contracts is in excess of $100 million.

Currently working on the development of two major wind/natural gas combination electric generation projects in Montana.  One is 65 megawatts and the other is 70 megawatts.  Also leading the lobby efforts to pass Federal legislation that would direct several other smaller land exchanges.

1994 to 2009 – Partner in the firm of Jamison and Sullivan, Inc. with offices in Washington DC and Billings, Montana. Jamison and Sullivan, Inc. is a diverse firm whose work falls into three main categories:  Development of Start-up companies such as Flight Landata, a company that collects data using the light spectrum system; lobby Congress and the Administration on behalf of local governments and educational institutions for the funding of special projects that run the gamut from transportation financing, educational support and building construction.  Time was also spent assisting companies, such as Greystar Resources Ltd., a Colombian mining company, working with the Colombian embassy and U.S. State Department in support of their development efforts in South America.

1989 to 1993 – National Director of the Bureau of Land Management, Department of the Interior, Washington, DC.  Appointed by President George H. Bush and confirmed by the United States Senate to oversee approximately one-eighth of the nation’s surface estate and nearly 600 million acres of subsurface mineral estate owned by the Federal Government, mainly in the States west of the Mississippi.  The Director was responsible for a budget totaling nearly $2.0 Billion and a staff of over 10,000 employees.  Major issues included environmental planning, mineral production, coal, oil and gas leasing, forestry, recreation, land management and planning.  As Director he presented the Administration’s position to Congress in formal hearings before various Congressional Committees on a variety of proposed laws and issues.

1981 to 1993 – Legislative Advisor, Interior and Insular Affairs Committee, (renamed the Natural Resources Committee) United States House of Representatives, Washington, DC.  The duties of that position were to write legislation, conduct oversight of Federal Agencies under the jurisdiction of the Committee, and assist in the development of policy relating to natural resources.  The majority of time was spent on issues relating to the mining law, oil and gas leasing, coal leasing and reclamation, and both surface and subsurface water management.  Assuring access for major projects such as oil and gas pipelines and electric power line corridors passing through Federal lands were also addressed by the Committee.

1971 to 1981 – Career employee, Bureau of Land Management, Billings, Montana.  Over a ten-year period he staffed positions relating to training, public affairs, fire suppression and natural resource management.

Mr. Jamison holds a B.S. degree in Secondary Education with an Earth Science minor from Montana State University Billings and maintains homes and offices in DC and Billings, Montana.

--wapo....One of those involved a major interagency conflict over federal water contracts with farmers in the West. The issue was whether the government could renew the 40-year contracts, the first of which had expired, and lock itself into decades of water deliveries without first analyzing the environmental impact. In a dispute with major policy implications, Interior officials were at odds with the EPA, which wanted environmental assessments done and had appealed the matter to the White House Council on Environmental Quality. Before the CEQ could conduct an inquiry, Lujan heeded the advice of Interior solicitor Ralph W. Tarr, a Reagan appointee, and signed the contract. "I felt I had an obligation to sign," Lujan said. EPA officials said Lujan attempted to explain the action to Reilly by pointing out that the issue affected more than just one water contract. "He said this dispute could eventually involve the entire Central Valley Project, and the entire western water system," said a senior EPA official. "Of course, that was our precise argument to CEQ on why the assessments were needed." Congressional colleagues say the episode may have cost Lujan his most important asset -- credibility with Congress. During his confirmation hearing, Lujan had been questioned about the issue and had promised to give the matter a careful review. "Then he signed the contracts without any consultation with Congress," said one colleague. Lujan's rocky start has raised some questions about what role the White House expects him to play in environmental policy. When Bush dispatched a group of top federal officials to Alaska in the wake of an 11 million-gallon oil spill, the Interior Department was conspicuous by its absence. Conservationists found the omission odd, considering that the department is responsible for natural resource protection and is in the midst of a major battle to open one of Alaska's prime wildlife refuges to oil exploration. "It demonstrates that this guy is not a player," said one veteran congressional aide. More telling, according to Interior officials, are the nominees being chosen to fill critical natural-resource jobs in Interior and in other federal agencies. For National Park Service director, Bush named James Ridenour, a former fund-raiser for Vice President Quayle. As director of Indiana's Department of Natural Resources, Ridenour infuriated conservationists by approving more development adjacent to the famed Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. A former Watt aide, Delos Cy Jamison, has been selected to run the Bureau of Land Management, keeper of hundreds of millions of acres of public lands. And at the Agriculture Department, another former Watt deputy, James E. Cason, has been installed as assistant secretary for natural resources, putting him in charge of the forests he sought to open for oil and gas exploration. Many expect Indiana businessman Frank Bracken, newly nominated as undersecretary, to take over day-to-day operations at Interior, the customary role of the department's No. 2 official. But Interior officials say Lujan's aides have reorganized the chain of command to move the undersecretary out of the way of most major decisions. "On paper, at least, he'll be in charge of P.R., like the Take Pride in America program," said one senior official. Lujan said he is pleased with the way the department is operating, given that the Reagan holdovers were told in advance they all would be replaced soon. "I thought everyone would lay down on the job," he said. "It didn't happen." And although he accepted his Cabinet post with some public reluctance, he said he is willing to stay as long as Bush desires. "One year, four years, eight years," he said. "He's my boss. I do what he says."...==