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WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release October 26, 1999

               PRESIDENT CLINTON NAMES THOMAS A. FRY III 
               DIRECTOR OF THE BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT 
                     AT THE DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR

     President Clinton announced today his intent to nominate Thomas A.

Fry III to serve as Director of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) at the U.S. Department of Interior (DOI).

Mr. Thomas A. Fry, of Dallas, Texas, has been Acting BLM Director since November 1998 and served as Deputy Director from January 1997 to November 1998. Before coming to the BLM, Mr. Fry was Chief of Staff for Interior Deputy Secretary John Garamendi, a position in which he provided leadership and policy oversight for special departmental initiatives. In 1996, Mr. Fry was a consultant to the National Park Service (NPS) where he advised on ways to solve the serious backlog of housing for NPS staff. From July 1993 to August 1994, Mr. Fry was Director of the Minerals Management Service. In that capacity, he was responsible for the exploration, development, and production of oil, natural gas, and other minerals on the Nation's Outer Continental Shelf. Mr. Fry also oversaw the collection of revenues for minerals development on Federal and Indian lands. Prior to 1993, Mr. Fry was Vice President of American Natural Resources, Inc., a Dallas natural gas processing and transmission company. He handled analysis and legal review of all aspects of the firm's business, including the operation of a natural gas processing plant. From 1975 to 1977, Mr. Fry was in private law practice with the Dallas firm of Cooper, Hayner, Miller and Long. From 1972 to 1974, Mr. Fry was the Assistant Attorney General of Texas, where he was Assistant Chief of the State's Anti-Trust Consumer Protection program. He also served on active duty in the U.S. Army for over two years, attaining the rank of Captain and receiving the Army Commendation Medal.

Mr. Fry received a B.S. from Trinity University and a J.D. from Southern Methodist University School of Law.

The BLM at the Department of Interior is the federal agency that manages 264 million acres of federally owned lands, as well as mineral resources underlying another 300 million acres of federal and privately owned lands. The BLM managed lands are located primarily in the eleven western states. The Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 consolidated and established policy for retention and management of the public lands, and provides primary authority for the BLM's operations.

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