Appraisal Services Staff Members: (top row) Larry Ragels, Alex Glade, Shawn Redfield, Brian Holly, Zebulum Mathews, (bottom row) Maggie Torres-Wilking, Helen Honse, Liz Hanna and Jerry Stoebig.
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On November 12, 2003, Secretary Norton formally announced the consolidation and transfer of the real estate appraisal functions to one office under the National Business Center (NBC). The Appraisal Services Directorate (ASD) was created through the consolidation of appraisers from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the Bureau of Reclamation (BOR), the National Park Service (NPS), and the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS). In a June press release, Secretary Norton stated, “it is critical that we provide objective appraisals of value of lands under consideration for acquisition or exchange.”
Secretary Norton’s action to consolidate the real estate appraisal function responds to long-standing concerns about the management of appraisal functions. “Consolidating appraisal functions will ensure that appraisals are credible. This will help restore public confidence in our ability to carry out land transactions in a manner that upholds the public interest.” The new organization will also provide an opportunity for the Department to develop a highly skilled, independent professional corps of appraisers able to provide the high level of appraisal services required by our multiple land management responsibilities.
NBC is appropriately suited to house the new appraisal organization as it provides Department-wide business and administrative services and systems to Interior bureaus and offices, including payroll, financial and accounting services, procurement, information technology, and aviation services. With its variety of locations, NBC is organizationally structured to provide administrative and infrastructure support to the appraisers.
The Appraisal Services Directorate (ASD) is organized into seven regions, each managed by a Regional Appraiser who reports directly to the Chief Appraiser (also known as the Associate Director). The regional offices are located in Portland, Sacramento, Phoenix, Denver, Minneapolis, Atlanta and Washington, DC. In addition, there are 22 field offices located around the country.
The Appraisal Services Directorate provides four formal services to the client Bureaus within the Department: Appraisals, Appraisal Review, Appraisal Consulting and Concessions Valuation. ASD clients include BLM, BOR, NPS, and FWS.
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