New manager joins Klamath BLM  

Don Holmstrom took over duties in May  

By LEE JUILLERAT

H&N Regional Editor

June 23, 2007

   Forests, rangelands, marshes, sagebrush desert lands — Don Holmstrom loves them all. 

   “One of the things that interested me in the job is its mix,” Holmstrom says of why he applied for the job as manager of the Bureau of Land Management’s Klamath Falls Field Office. He will manage an area that spans 220,000 acres in Klamath County . “It is nice to have that mixture of programs and resources.” 

   The 47-year-old Holmstrom took over duties in May, after transferring from Arcata , Calif. , where he spent two years as the assistant field manager. He replaces Jon Roby, who transferred to the Rogue-Siskiyou National Forest . Before Arcata, Holmstrom spent four years with the same job at the BLM’s Susanville , Calif. , office. 

   “Just kind of opportunistic,” Holmstrom said of spending the past six-plus years in relative proximity. His BLM years started after he spent his first 12 years with the U.S. Forest Service in Arizona and, before that, five years with a forestry consulting business. 

   Moving West 

   Although he was born and raised in Minnesota , he set his sights on traveling West by studying forestry at the University of Montana . 

   “My family had a cabin in northern Minnesota ,” Holmstrom said. “I just had an interest in the outdoors and forestry seemed like it would be a good fit for not having to work in the office.” 

   Since arriving in Klamath Falls , Holmstrom has been spending time in the field getting to know the BLM lands. Although the agency has a large block in the Gerber Reservoir area, lands in other areas, including west of Klamath Falls , are in checkerboard blocks that create management obstacles. The habitats include tracts of property along the Klamath River , Wood River and Surveyor Mountain . 

   Variety of resources 

   “There are a real variety of resources to be managed. In the past, the agency has done a real good job and I just see us continuing on with that role, maintaining that balance between use and preservation,” he said, noting, “Folks get to work on several different ecosystems.” 

   Holmstrom believes he faces challenges because the BLM’s budget “is slowly eroding away. We’re looking to a leaner agency in the future.” The Klamath Falls office has about 55 permanent and 20-plus seasonal fire crew employees. 

   His wife, Karen, also a BLM employee, is in Arcata, but will move to Klamath Falls after their house is sold. Throughout their recent moves, the Holmstroms have been remodeling houses. Other hobbies include traveling, hiking and “some fishing … I hope to get back into it.” 

   The Holmstroms have two grown sons, one in Bend , the other in Alaska .  

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