Amanda L. James

Amanda is an enrolled member of the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe of Nevada. She was born in Shurz, Nevada but raised in Missoula, Montana, which she considers home. She graduated in 1996 from Haskell Indian Nations University with an Associate of Science in Natural Resources and received a Bachelor of Science in 2000 from the University of Montana, School of Forestry in Resource Conservation. Between 1995 and 2000 she worked as a seasonal employee in the Bureau of Land Management. After obtaining her Bachelor's degree, she began working in eastern Montana at the BLM's Miles City Field Office. She now works close to home at the Missoula Field Office. She is a Natural Resource Specialist, the program lead for special status plant species, responsible for the Vegetation Monitoring Program, provides input for watershed and environment assessments, and occasionally fights fire. She also serves as a board member and secretary for the BLM National Native Employee Organization (NNEO), a newly fledged organization sharing many of the same objectives as SAIGE. She also is the Native American Special Emphasis Program Co-Manager for the Montana/Dakotas BLM. In her statement, she says: "I care strongly about Native issues and want to be more proactive in all aspects of my life. I have experience and witnessed the need for organizations such as NNEO and SAIGE in the Federal government and am excited to offer my time and enthusiasm as a potential board member of SAIGE."