Local irrigator appointed to Bureau of Reclamation

Local irrigator and water resource consultant Alan Mikkelsen of St. Ignatius was appointed last week to serve as deputy commissioner of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.

U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke and Bureau of Reclamation Acting Commissioner David Murillo announced Mikkelsen’s appointment in a press release issued April 20.

Mikkelsen, who served as Zinke’s campaign manager during his 2014 congressional bid, takes over as second in charge at the bureau, which manages water infrastructure projects in 17 western states, including the Hungry Horse Dam. “Alan Mikkelsen is a westerner who has decades of experience in all things water issues to include irrigation projects, tribal water compacts, conservation, and even a long-term fishing guide,” Zinke said in the press release.

In a phone interview on Saturday, Mikkelsen said his primary focus will revolve around maintaining bureau services under tough financial circumstances.

“Money is tight, and it’s not going to get any better for quite some time,” Mikkelsen said. “We have a lot of maintenance and budget issues that we’ll be trying to deal with.”

With the bureau’s parent agency, the Department of Interior, facing a 12-percent budget cut under the Trump Administration, Mikkelsen said he plans to continue pushing for public-private partnerships to help balance costs.

“We’re going to do quite a bit of work on that and try to get some private financing,” he said.

Mikkelsen noted that the bureau is unique in the fact that it makes money for the federal government through hydroelectric power generation and water delivery.

According to the press release, Mikkelsen’s formerly served as the executive director of the Flathead Joint Board of Control and owns a consulting business focuses on work with Native American tribes.

He was a strong proponent of the proposed water compact with the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribe, testifying before in the state legislature in 2013 in support of the issue.

Before accepting the appointment, Mikkelsen said he was semi-retired and primarily concerned with working as a fishing guide on Idaho’s Clearwater River. He said he had his doubts about returning to a desk job.

“It was extremely difficult,” Mikkelsen said. “The Secretary finally called me after thinking about this for couple weeks and told me he needed a decision.”

In the end, Mikkelsen, a self-professed “water geek,” said the opportunity was too good to pass up.