Program Manager for the Water Resources
Blane is a member of the Pueblo of Isleta and has been an advocate for managing, protecting, and advancing the sustainability of Pueblo natural and water resources connected assets and served as the 2nd Lt. Governor of Isleta for the term of 2021-22. Starting out his career for 12 years a Soil Conservationist, then a Range Conservationist with Bureau of Indian Affairs, he left behind a federal service career to work for Isleta and other Pueblos in various areas of environmental protection. Isleta was the first tribe to adopt water quality standards (WQS) under the 1987 Clean Water Act and was involved during the City of Albuquerque’s push back on the EPA’s approval. To that end, the Supreme Court decline to hear the City’s appeal and confirmed EPA’s approval. As a result, Isleta’s WQS conditions Albuquerque Bernalillo Country Water Utility Authority’s NPDES permit. Recruited after Isleta, he was the Director for the All Indian Pueblo Council of Governor’s Pueblo Office of Environmental Protection overseeing several programs. Following that, from 2003 to 2019, he served on the New Mexico Interstate Stream Commission, as the first NM Pueblo/Tribal member. Additionally, he worked as a Program Manager and Program Specialist for the NM Water Resources Research Institute. Growing up ranching and farming with his grandfather influenced his education direction by obtaining a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture from New Mexico State University in 1981 and a Masters of Water Resources from the University of New Mexico (UNM) in 2005. It is his understanding he is the first NM Pueblo or Tribal member to graduate from the Water Resources Program at UNM. Blane looks forward to continuing his work for Isleta and other Pueblos, as well as with working with other entities that support the sustainability of tribal lands and resources. It is Blane’s goal and hope that Isleta can settle their water rights claims in his lifetime.