Replies

U.S. Department of the Interior

Office of the Secretary
For Immediate Release: October 30, 1998

Contact: John Wright 202/208-6416
Sylvia Baca Tapped to Serve as Acting Assistant Secretary
of the Interior for Land and Minerals Management

Sylvia V. Baca has been named Acting Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Land and Minerals Management, it was announced today by Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt. She succeeds Assistant Secretary Robert (Bob) Armstrong who is retiring from public service effective October 30, 1998.

"Ms. Baca knows the issues extremely well and her experience will be invaluable in solving the energy, minerals and natural resources management challenges before the Department," Babbitt said. "She has demonstrated a deep commitment to the conservation and responsible development of the nation's natural resources."

Baca currently serves as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management, the second in charge of a division of the Interior Department that oversees the Minerals Management Service, Bureau of Land Management, and the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement.

Ms. Baca joined the Interior Department in 1995, as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management. She served a seven-month stint (January -August 1997) as Interim Director of the Bureau of Land Management, replacing Acting Director Mike Dombeck when he was appointed Director of the U.S. Forest Service. Prior to joining the Clinton Administration in 1995, she served as Director of Finance and Management of the City of Albuquerque, New Mexico, where she was responsible for the fiscal integrity of city assets. Ms. Baca also held several positions in New Mexico State Government, including five years with the Legislative Finance Committee.

A native of New Mexico, Ms. Baca received a Bachelor of University Studies in 1981, and a Master of Public Administration in 1989, from the University of New Mexico.

The Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Land and Minerals Management has administrative and managerial responsibility for the Bureau of Land Management, the Minerals Management Service, and the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement. Management responsibilities for these three bureaus include the management of 270 million acres of onshore public land; operations management for minerals on the 1.4 billion acres of Outer Continental Shelf, to the outer limits of the United States Exclusive Economic Zone; and management of surface mining and reclamation regulatory activities.