October 01, 2019 03:16 PM UTC

Wait, BLM Chief Won't Be Moving to Colorado?

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• by: Colorado Pols

Marianne Goodland of the publication formerly known as the Colorado Statesman reports today on a long list of ethical red flags related to William Perry Pendley, the acting director for the Bureau of Land Management whose job was just extended by a few more months despite objections from the likes of Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Denver).

The acting head of the federal agency overseeing 8.3 million acres of public land in Colorado has included 57 people and organizations — including many in Colorado — on a “recusal” list of potential ethical conflicts…

…Pendley is a longtime Colorado lawyer whose name has popped up for decades as a property-rights attorney for those who fight against local and state governments and the federal government on a long list of issues. That’s included lawsuits over guns, plastic bags in grocery stores and eminent domain, and even lawsuits naming BLM and other agencies of the U.S. Department of the Interior as defendants.

Last Wednesday, Pendley distributed a list of recusals that included 57 people and entities, including former clients, employers and business associates, as well as financial interests including stock holdings.

The last paragraph of Goodland’s story includes a pretty remarkable admission from Pendley regarding the BLM’s much-publicized decision to move its headquarters from Washington D.C. to Grand Junction, Colorado:

Pendley has said he does not intend to make the move to Grand Junction, where the BLM is expected to relocate about two dozen senior level managers. [Pols emphasis]

Whaaaa???

Critics of the BLM move have alleged that Republicans are essentially trying to destroy the agency altogether — something that White House Acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney has directly admitted. But as Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Yuma) has repeated ad nauseam, the entire supposed point of moving the BLM to Grand Junction was to move the “decision makers” closer to the public lands that they are intended to oversee. This particular narrative falls apart when you learn that the acting director of the agency — a pretty key decision maker — HAS NO PLANS to move back to Colorado.

As E&E News reported last month, none of the 200 BLM employees currently working in Washington D.C. have expressed enthusiasm about the headquarters move. We missed the initial reporting about Pendley not moving with the rest of the HQ to Colorado, but this seems like a point worth repeating.