The county planning director is charged with combining interests of the natural environment and the nonnatural environment when making development decisions within the county - something Natrona County's new director knows a lot about.

"We try to combine the two in a synergistic way," said Blair Leist, who was hired for the open position about a month ago. "We want to maintain our natural resources. We want to utilize them to the effect that we need to use them, and at the same time, we want to provide a built [nonnatural] environment for families and for individuals so they have a nice quality of life as well."

Combining the two environments can be a challenge, Leist said, but finding common ground is essential to the planning process.

Leist said he should be a great fit for the job, based on his involvement in planning issues in Colorado and Wyoming over the last 14 years.

"It's a really good match," he said. "A good match for them, good match for me, and it seems to be working really well right now."

With a master's degree in urban and regional planning from the University of Oregon, Leist said he hopes to bring knowledge to an already strong county planning and development team.

"I really think I have a lot to offer to this community and the county, and I'm really looking forward to the time I'm spending here," he said. He complimented his team of about nine county employees, calling them "dedicated to their work and to the county."

Experience in rural planning could also work to the new director's advantage, with only about 14,000 people inhabiting the unincorporated areas of Natrona County. Leist, former planning director for Archuleta County in Colorado, said smaller areas require special consideration when planning.

"Our Board of County Commissioners, of course, answer to their constituents, and I'm a strong believer as they are in representative government, so we have to represent what the desires of the people in this county are," he explained. "And there may be some situations where people would prefer not to have a subdivision come into a certain area, for example."

But the opinions of the people have to be balanced with "good, solid, smart planning strategies," he added.

Leist said his first project as director will include development of a comprehensive plan for the county.

"I want to talk to the ranchers. I want to talk to the business owners. I want to talk to the real estate developers and just the people on the street," he said. "This plan will incorporate all the different interests in the county and bring them all together so we can see where we're going to go and where the county is going to go in the next several years."

Contact reporter Megan Lee at (307) 266-0589 or megan.lee@trib.com