WASHINGTON - The Bureau of Reclamation and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are pleased to announce that Genevieve Johnson has been selected as Coordinator for the Desert Landscape Conservation Cooperative (LCC). Johnson will provide ongoing facilitation and operational leadership to the Desert LCC consistent with the goals, objectives and guidance of the Desert LCC Steering Committee. Johnson is a Bureau of Reclamation employee based in Phoenix.

The Desert LCC is part of a national network of LCCs that were established by the Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar. They are self-directed partnerships among federal, state, tribal and private organizations and agencies within a geographic area. LCCs aim to define a common vision for managing natural resources and cultural resources across large connected areas – or landscapes – by identifying and supporting the science needed to implement effective and sustainable conservation priorities.

Johnson begins this position after working at the U.S. Forest Service since 2009 where she served as the lead for the development, guidance and monitoring of land management planning in Arizona. She previously worked to improve land conservation efforts as a planner with Arizona State Parks Open Spaces Program. Some of her early work experience includes managing several resource management plans and associated environmental impact statements while at the Bureau of Land Management in Arizona.

Johnson received her Bachelor of Science in Conservation Biology in 1997 and her Master of Science in Urban and Environmental Planning in 2007, both from Arizona State University in Tempe.

The Desert LCC encompasses portions of five states: Arizona, California, Nevada, New Mexico, and Texas, as well as a substantial portion of Northern Mexico. It also includes several large river systems, including the lower Colorado, Gila, San Pedro, and Verde Rivers plus the Rio Grande. The Colorado River Basin is one of the most critical sources of water in the West. The richness of the topography leads to equally diverse species composition; the area supports habitat for many native plants, fish and wildlife species, including many endemic species that are extremely susceptible to climate change.