The U.S. Senate recently confirmed Joe Balash as the Department of the Interior's assistant secretary for land and minerals management, where he'll serve under Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke.
Balash has almost two decades of experience in land and natural resource management and will be taking over acting Assistant Secretary Kate MacGregor’s responsibilities.
“I am deeply honored to be able to serve at the Department of the Interior,” Balash said. “As a nation, we are blessed with tremendous public lands and resources that give our people unparalleled opportunities for recreation and job creation for generations to come. I look forward to working with Secretary Zinke and his incredible team to seize on those opportunities and deliver on President [Donald] Trump's America First Energy Plan.”
Balash, an Alaska native, most recently served as the chief of staff to Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK) and as a commissioner of the Alaska Department of Natural Resources.
The assistant secretary manages all federal lands and waters and mineral and non-mineral resources, ensuring that they are regulated, protected and/or improved to benefit the American people.
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