New Manager Selected for BLM Tucson Field Office

Tucson, Ariz. Vi Hillman has been selected as the new BLM Tucson field manager within the Gila District. She is currently serving as the associate district manager for Arizona’s Colorado River District in Lake Havasu City, where she has worked since December 2009.

“Vi’s background in education and expertise in employee development, training, mentoring, and human resources will be a great asset to the Tucson Field Office,” said Gila District manager Tim Shannon. She will start her new job in mid-October.

Hillman has a Master’s Degree in Education and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Secondary Education. She was an adjunct professor at the University of Utah and Weber State University between 1991 and 1998. Prior to attending graduate school, Hillman taught eight years at the high school level.

She began her BLM career as a seasonal employee in 1978 and worked 14 seasons at the Salt Lake Field Office. She completed a temporary detail at the Phoenix District as the associate district manager as well as several Washington Office assignments for the BLM and Forest Service. Prior to her 2009 move to Arizona, Hillman was the field manager at the Newcastle Field Office in Wyoming for 3½ years.

She also has an extensive fire background, working as a program lead for the Utah State Office for five years then as the interagency fire training specialist for Utah BLM and the Intermountain Regional Office with the Forest Service between 2003 and 2006, both in the greater Salt Lake City area. Hillman completed the Ecosystem and Fuels Management graduate programs sponsored by Colorado State University, Utah State University, and the University of Northern Arizona. She served as the wildland issues advisor on the Women in Fire Board and National Wildfire Coordinating Group Fire Education Working Team for several years.

During her time in Lake Havasu City, Hillman has been an active member of the community, currently serving as an ex-officio board member of the Havasu Foundation for Higher Learning and a member of the London Bridge Lions Club. She is a member of the National Association of Professional Woman and is active in the Arizona Society for Range Management.

“Vi will have the opportunity in Tucson to be involved with our youth education programs and collaborate with the many Friends groups and partners that continually assist us,” added Shannon. “We look forward to having her on our team.”

The Tucson Field Office (TFO) manages more than 600,000 acres in Pima, Cochise, Pinal, Santa Cruz, and Gila counties in southeastern Arizona including lands along the U.S.-Mexico border. Special areas include eight National Landscape Conservation System units: the Ironwood Forest National Monument, San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area, Las Cienegas National Conservation Area, four wilderness areas, and portions of the Arizona National Scenic Trail. Special designations include the San Pedro Globally Important Bird Area and the Murray Springs Clovis Site and Lehner Mammoth Kill-Site national historic landmarks.

Multiple use programs managed by the TFO include range management; recreation activities and facilities; abandoned mine reclamation, right-of-way permitting for roads, pipelines and energy; fish, wildlife, and habitat protection and enhancement; mine permitting and compliance; land exchanges, sales and acquisitions; and protection of heritage resources such as archaeological, historical, and fossil sites.

Twenty full-time employees, along with interns, volunteers and contractors, work in TFO offices in Tucson and Sierra Vista.