Neil Kornze | |
---|---|
Director of the Bureau of Land Management | |
In office April 8, 2014 –January 20, 2017 Acting: March 1, 2013 – April 8, 2014 | |
President | Barack Obama |
Preceded by | Mike Pool (acting) |
Succeeded by | Kristin Bail (acting) |
Personal details | |
Born | Elko,Nevada,U.S. |
Education | Whitman College (BA) London School of Economics (MA) |
Neil Kornze is an American government official who served as director of the Bureau of Land Management from March 2013 to January 2017 under President Barack Obama. [1]
Kornze was born and raised in Elko,Nevada. [2] He attended Elko High School. He graduated from Whitman College in Walla Walla,Washington,with a bachelor's degree in politics,and then earned a Master of Arts degree in international relations from the London School of Economics. [3]
Kornze served in the office of Nevada Senator Harry Reid from 2003 until 2011, [4] where he worked on a variety of public lands issues,including renewable energy development,mining,water,outdoor recreation,rural development,and wildlife. [5] During his tenure,Kornze participated in the design of the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009,which designated 2 million acres of wilderness,codified the National Landscape Conservation System,and added 1,000 river-miles to the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System. [3]
Kornze was the BLM's acting deputy director for policy and programs from October 2011 through March 2013,when he became the Principal Deputy Director and Acting Director, [6] where he worked on renewable and conventional energy,transmission siting,and conservation policy. [3] In November 2013,Kornze was nominated to be the bureau's director [4] and in April 2014,that nomination was confirmed by the U.S. Senate by a vote of 71–28. [1]
Only a few days after his confirmation,Kornze was pulled into the national spotlight due to events related to the Bundy standoff in northeastern Clark County,Nevada. [7]
Since 2019,Kornze has worked as the CEO of the Campion Foundation and Campion Advocacy Fund. [8]
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior responsible for administering U.S. federal lands. Headquartered in Washington,D.C.,the BLM oversees more than 247.3 million acres (1,001,000 km2) of land,or one-eighth of the United States's total landmass.
Elko County is a county in the northeastern corner of Nevada,United States. As of the 2020 census,the population was 53,702. Its county seat is Elko. The county was established on March 5,1869,from Lander County.
The Humboldt–Toiyabe National Forest (HTNF) is the principal U.S. National Forest in the U.S. state of Nevada,and has a smaller portion in Eastern California. With an area of 6,289,821 acres (25,454.00 km2),it is the largest U.S. National Forest outside of Alaska.
National Conservation Lands,formally known as the National Landscape Conservation System,is a 35-million-acre (140,000 km2) collection of lands in 873 federally recognized areas considered to be the crown jewels of the American West. These lands represent 10% of the 258 million acres (1,040,000 km2) managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The BLM is the largest federal public land manager and is responsible for over 40% of all the federal public land in the nation. The other major federal public land managers include the US Forest Service (USFS),National Park Service (NPS),and the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS).
Coyote Springs,Nevada,is a master-planned community being developed in Lincoln County and Clark County,Nevada. The community was initially planned by developer and attorney-lobbyist Harvey Whittemore and Pardee Homes. Thomas Seeno and Albert Seeno,Jr. became the sole owners of Coyote Springs following Whittemore's resignation from the Wingfield Nevada Holding Group amidst legal troubles. No homes had been built as of June 2018.
The Independent American Party of Nevada (IAPN) is a right-wing American political party and the Nevada affiliate of the Constitution Party. The party was founded in 1967 and affiliated with the Constitution Party after its forming in 1999. It was one of four Constitution state parties that did not change their names to "Constitution Party".
David J. Hayes is an American attorney and legal scholar who serves in the Biden Administration as Special Assistant to the President for Climate Policy. Hayes has led White House work on clean energy deployment issues,climate resilience and greenhouse gas emission reduction and carbon sequestration initiatives. Hayes also has assisted in developing and implementing the climate-related provisions included in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Inflation Reduction Act.
The Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 is a land management law passed in the 111th United States Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama on March 30,2009. The bill designates millions of acres in the US as protected and establishes a National Landscape Conservation System. It includes funding for programs,studies and other activities by the Department of the Interior and the Department of Agriculture,and in some cases bars further geothermal leasing,oil and gas leasing,and new mining patents on certain stretches of protected land.
The California Desert Protection Act of 2010 was legislation proposed by U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein. The stated aim of the legislation was "to provide for conservation,enhanced recreation opportunities,and development of renewable energy in the California Desert Conservation Area."
Toquop Energy Project is a proposed energy facility located in Lincoln County near Mesquite,Nevada.
The Silver State South Solar Project is a 250 megawatt (MWAC) photovoltaic power plant located in Clark County,Nevada,and near the previously completed 50 MWAC Silver State North Solar Project and the 530 MW gas-fired Higgins Generating Station. The project was completed in late 2016 and was constructed by subcontractors for First Solar. The plant is owned and operated by a subsidiary of NextEra Energy Resources,and power is being sold to Southern California Edison.
The Thacker Pass Lithium Mine is a lithium clay mining development project in Humboldt County,Nevada,which is the largest known lithium deposit in the US and one of the largest in the world. There has been significant exploration of Thacker Pass since 2007. The Bureau of Land Management issued a Record of Decision approving development of the mine in January 2021. Construction began in March 2023 after an emergency appeal was denied by the court. The project site would cover 18,000 acres (7,300 ha),with less than 6,000 acres (2,400 ha) of that being mined,on a site 21 miles (34 km) west-northwest of Orovada,Nevada within the McDermitt Caldera. The mine is a project of Lithium Nevada,LLC,a wholly owned subsidiary of Lithium Americas Corp. In late January 2023,car giant General Motors announced it would invest $650M in the mine project,giving GM exclusive access to the first phase of production. In February 2023,when the initial $320 million investment was completed,GM became Lithium Americas largest shareholder and offtake partner. At full capacity the mine would produce 66,000 tons annually,equivalent to 25% of the current (2021) demand for lithium globally,which is expected to triple over the next five years. Development of the mine is driven by increasing demand for lithium used in electric vehicle batteries and grid storage of intermittently generated electricity from sources such as solar power or wind power.
The 2014 Bundy standoff was an armed confrontation between supporters of cattle rancher Cliven Bundy and law enforcement following a 21-year legal dispute in which the United States Bureau of Land Management (BLM) obtained court orders directing Bundy to pay over $1 million in withheld grazing fees for Bundy's use of federally owned land adjacent to Bundy's ranch in southeastern Nevada.
Cliven D. Bundy is an American cattle rancher known for his role in the 2014 Bundy standoff. Bundy has advocated a philosophy opposed to what he views as federal government overreach. He is the father of Ammon Bundy,who in 2016 also led another armed standoff against the government,the occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon.
Grazing rights in Nevada covers a number of rangeland Federal and state laws and regulations applicable to the state of Nevada. Rangelands are distinguished from pasture lands because they grow primarily native vegetation,rather than plants established by humans. Ranchers may lease or obtain permits to use portions of this public rangeland and pay a fee based on the number and type of livestock and the period for which they are on the land.
The Northern Nevada Land Conservation and Economic Development Act is a bill that would require the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to convey certain federal lands in Nevada to other government entities. The bill was a package of several different smaller bills related to land in Nevada.
Shanty Town is an unincorporated community in Elko County,Nevada,United States.
Basin and Range National Monument is a national monument of the United States spanning approximately 704,000 acres of remote,undeveloped mountains and valleys in Lincoln and Nye counties in southeastern Nevada. It is described as "one of the emptiest spaces in a state famous for its emptiness."
The Ely Energy Center was a proposed coal-fired power plant that was to be built in Steptoe Valley,north of the city of Ely and located in White Pine County,Nevada. The plant was proposed by Nevada Power Company and Sierra Pacific Resources in January 2006. Construction was to begin on a 750-megawatt power unit in 2007,with completion by 2011. A second 750-megawatt unit was to be built within a few years after the first one,with a total cost of $3.8 billion. The companies also planned to ultimately add two 500-megawatt coal gasification plants to the project as soon as such technology became commercially viable. The total cost,upon full completion,would amount to $5 billion. The Ely Energy Center would have been the largest power plant in Nevada,and the state's largest energy project since the construction of Hoover Dam.
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