News Release Archive

Mike Ryan Named Great Plains Regional Director

Media Contact: Trudy Harlow, 202-513-0574
Mark Andersen, 406-247-7607, mandersen@gp.usbr.gov

For Release: June 07, 2005

Reclamation Commissioner John Keys announced today that Michael J. Ryan, a longtime Reclamation employee, has been selected as the new Great Plains Regional Director. Ryan is currently Northern California Area Manager in Redding, Calif. He will assume his new duties before July 1, 2005.

"Mike Ryan has the background and depth of experience for this important position in Reclamation," Keys said. "He is a strong communicator, an experienced manager, and a consensus-builder. His collaborative style of leadership will benefit Reclamation and our Great Plains stakeholders, contractors and customers.

"At the same time," Keys continued, "I want to recognize the solid contribution of Deputy Regional Director Jaralyn Beek, who has provided leadership for the region while the regional directorship was vacant."

Ryan has been Northern California Area Manager since 1996. In that capacity, he has provided oversight for the operation and maintenance of 9 dams with a combined storage of 7 million acre feet of storage for flood protection and the delivery of water to hundreds of municipalities and irrigation entities from Redding to Bakersfield, Calif. He also oversaw the operation and maintenance of 6 power plants that annually produce roughly 4 million kilowatt hours of electricity. Ryan served as Chairman of the Trinity Management Council, tasked with developing and implementing the Trinity River Restoration Program and advising the Secretary of the Interior on Trinity River anadromous fishery restoration issues.

Prior to his current assignment, Ryan was the manager of Reclamation's Klamath Basin Area Office. He also has worked for Reclamation in Montana and Colorado in various positions related to natural resource management and water and hydroelectric power operations and maintenance.

A native of western Montana, Ryan earned a Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering from Montana State University and is a registered professional engineer. Ryan and his wife, Shelly, have three children: John, 22; Anne 17; and, Kate, 13.

Reclamation's Great Plains Region, headquartered in Billings, Mont., includes all or parts of nine states extending from the Canadian border adjoining Montana and North Dakota to the southern tip of Texas. The region manages 80 storage dams and reservoirs, 63 diversion dams, and 21 powerplants, and administers more than 1,000 water service and repayment contracts. The region's facilities provide water to irrigate over two million acres of farmland and to meet the culinary water needs of over two million people. The region's powerplants generate over three billion kilowatt hours of electricity each year, enough to meet the power needs of about a quarter million households.

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Reclamation is the largest wholesale water supplier and the second largest producer of hydroelectric power in the United States, with operations and facilities in the 17 Western States. Its facilities also provide substantial flood control, recreation, and fish and wildlife benefits. Visit our website at http://www.usbr.gov.

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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.