News Release Archive

Brian Cornell Named Special Agent for Reclamation's Great Plains Region

Media Contact: Peter Soeth, 303-445-3615, psoeth@usbr.gov
Michael R. Odle, 406-247-7609, modle@usbr.gov

For Release: June 16, 2009

Bureau of Reclamation Security, Safety and Law Enforcement Director David Achterberg has named Brian Cornell as Special Agent for Reclamation's Great Plains Region.

As Special Agent, Brian will conduct and coordinate complex and sensitive investigations into criminal activities, terrorist threats, and suspicious activities involving Reclamation facilities, lands, and waters. He will also work closely with Reclamation's Great Plains Region and Area Managers to implement the law enforcement program involving the protection of Reclamation facilities.

Brian began his law enforcement career as a police officer in Texas before being hired as a Park Ranger with the National Park Service at Lake Mead National Recreation Area where he worked undercover, as uniformed patrol, and as a 911 dispatcher. In 1993 Brian transferred to the Bureau of Land Management in Las Vegas where he served as a law enforcement ranger working the urban interface of the Las Vegas Valley and Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area. He also served as an associate member of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department's Search and Rescue team as a search and rescue technician and EMT. He was involved in numerous search and rescue and high angle rope rescue operations.

Brian was promoted to Special Agent in 2000 with the Bureau of Land Management and transferred to Billings, Mont. Following the terror attacks of September, 11, 2001, Brian was detailed for six months as a Federal Air Marshal and was assigned to Seattle, Wash. Since August 2008, Cornell has been serving as the Special Agent in Charge for the Bureau of Land Management, Montana/Dakotas.

He was a founding member and Chapter President of Chapter 72 of the Federal Law Enforcement Officer's Association and was also on the FLEOA National Board from 2003 to 2007. Brian has attended the University of Great Falls in Great Falls, Mont., and enjoys spending time with his wife and kids.

# # #

The Bureau of Reclamation is a federal agency under the U.S. Department of the Interior and is the nation's largest wholesale water supplier and second largest producer of hydroelectric power. Our facilities also provide substantial flood control, recreation opportunities, and environmental benefits. Visit our website at https://www.usbr.gov and follow us on Twitter @USBR; Facebook @bureau.of.reclamation; LinkedIn @Bureau of Reclamation; Instagram @bureau_of_reclamation; and YouTube @reclamation.