Vowing to well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office, Marietta Eaton was sworn in as manager of Canyons of the Ancients National Monument on Tuesday morning in a short ceremony at the Anasazi Heritage Center.
Eaton was named monument manager in February and is only the second manager in the monuments 10-year history. The management position was vacated when Louann Jacobson left the monument last year.
The oath of office was administered by Mark Stiles, San Juan Forest supervisor and U.S. Bureau of Land Management Center manager. Stiles noted the importance of the occasion for the regions history.
(Eaton) will be the third director for the Anasazi Heritage Center and the second manager for Canyons of the Ancients National Monument. That might not seem significant, but we are managing this land for the decades and the centuries, Stiles told the small gathering of BLM employees. We are looking forward to what history says about the management of this area, and people like the second manager will be a big part of that.
Eaton is no stranger to leadership positions within the BLM. She worked as the National Landscape Conservation System Science Coordinator in Washington, D.C., for three years and served in several positions at the BLM Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in Utah, according to a written statement from the BLM.
Past assignments have given Eaton the skills she needs to effectively manage Canyons of the Ancients, she said.
Im no stranger to the issues the rural community deals with in regards to public lands, Eaton said.
In terms of management priorities, Eaton hopes to build a healthy working relationship with local governments and agencies that have a stake in use and practices on the monument.
I want to see better interaction with the communities and other agencies and the tribe and the county, Eaton said.
Eaton also hopes to find the balance in multiple use on the monument.
I perceive the monument as an outdoor laboratory, but it is important to recognize that it is also this communitys backyard, she said. The community must feel welcome and understand what is going on. It is critical everyone understands the opportunities and the limitations of the monument. My personal view is there are many uses on BLM lands and conservation has been added to the multiple-use portfolio.
In addition to conservation and new uses, Eaton said it is necessarily to honor the traditional uses such as ranching, grazing, and oil and gas development.
We must cultivate our natural resource values, and management is part of that, Eaton said.
Eaton is eager to get to work at the monument and pleased with the opportunity to be involved in a smaller community.
I am excited to be here, and Im looking forward to being part of the community and live in a place with wide open spaces and views, she said. My heart is in natural resources and Im thrilled to be here. This is what I want to be doing.
Reach Kimberly Benedict at kimberlyb@cortezjournal.com.