New Mexico Federal Lands Council News

NEW MEXICO FEDERAL LANDS NEWS

by Frank Dubois

Take a guess.

Who is running the BLM? Pondering Pendley

The question four years ago was, “who is going to be the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) director during the Trump Administration?” At first we were told it would be Karen Budd-Falen. That would be good (at least from my perspective) because I had hired her as a student employee at the Interior department during the Reagan Administration. Since then she had returned to Wyoming, earned her law degree, and had established herself as a very successful natural resource attorney. However, we learned the ethics office at Interior had placed such onerous restrictions on her appointment as to make it impossible for her to accept the job. As I recall she would have had to sell all her BLM permits (she came from a long term ranching family in Wyoming), and going even further, her husband’s family would have to divest themselves of all BLM ranching enterprises. Instead, she accepted a position in the Solicitor’s office.

We then rocked along for several years with various individuals moving in and out of the position as temporary appointees. Finally, in July of 2019 Secretary Bernhardt appointed William Perry Pendley as the acting director of BLM. I had known Pendley for over thirty years. He had served at Interior during the Reagan Administration as the deputy for energy and minerals at the same time that I had served as the deputy for land and water. His appointment was controversial among environmental and liberal groups, primarily because of the positions he had taken as the author of several books. A prolific writer, Pendley had penned volumes with titles such as War on the West: Government Tyranny on America’s Frontier; It Takes A Hero: The Grass Roots Battle Against Environmental Oppression; and Warriors for the West: Fighting Bureaucrats, Radical Groups, and Liberal Judges on America’s Frontier. Most recently he penned Sagebrush Rebel: Reagan’s Battle with Environmental Extremists and Why It Matters Today. (Full disclosure: I was interviewed by Pendley for this volume and am quoted

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therein concerning Reagan’s grazing policies) As you can tell from the titles, Pendley was no fan of the environmental lobbyists or the entrenched bureaucracy in their attempts to rule over the West.

Pendley has been reappointed several times, supposedly in compliance with the 1998 Federal Vacancies Reform Act. The enviros don’t like the process and they really don’t like Pendley. One spokesman said selecting Pendley to run the BLM is like, “putting an arsonist in charge of the city fire department.”

Undeterred by all the enviro noise, President Trump officially nominated Pendley to be the BLM director, which required Senate approval. Several months later, the President withdrew the nomination. Why? I’m positive it was at the request of two weak-kneed Republican Senators who were up for reelection: Cory Gardner of Colorado and Steve Daines of Montana. Gardner was behind in the polls and Daines was in a close race with the Governor of Montana.

Meanwhile, the enviros decided to file suits challenging the continuous temporary appointments. In May of this year the Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) and the Western Watersheds Project objected to the continued appointments of the acting leaders of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and National Park Service (NPS). Their lawsuit was filed in the D.C. district court. In July, the current Governor of Montana, Steve Bullock, filed a lawsuit claiming Interior Secretary David Bernhardt’s temporary delegation of authority to Pendley violated the Constitution’s requirement that major officials undergo Senate confirmation. And yes, this is the same Bullock who is running against Daines in the Senate race. Steve Bullock is a former candidate for a political office (President), currently holds a political office (Governor), is running for another political office (Senator), is suing over a political appointee (BLM Director) and yet has the audacity to say the lawsuit “has nothing to do with running for Senate”, i.e. is nonpolitical? Does he honestly believe we don’t think he conducted an internal poll before filing this lawsuit, or that it has nothing to do with national fundraising for his campaign? Sorry, Governor, but we suspect both things and recognize this for what it is, a political lawsuit.

Bullock’s lawsuit was filed in Montana district court before an Obama-appointed judge. Surprise, surprise, the judge ruled Pendley, “served unlawfully... for 424 days.” Pendley “had not been properly appointed

to the position, and instead had exercised authority as acting BLM director through a series of unlawful delegations” Judge Morris wrote in reference to the maneuvers that kept him in the acting director role for over a year. “Any exclusive function of the BLM director performed by Pendley is invalid.” The Dept. of Interior announced they would appeal the decision. “The Department of the Interior believes this ruling is erroneous, fundamentally misinterprets the law and unreasonably attempts to up-end decades of practice spanning multiple presidential administrations from both parties,” said DOI solicitor Dan Jorjani. Not satisfied with just the ouster of Pendley, Montana then petitioned the judge to throw out several resource management plans that were finalized during Pendley’s tenure. The judge agreed with their request.

As things now stand, the Dept. will appeal the decisions, and in the interim, Secretary Bernhardt will direct the BLM. An Interior official wrote an email to BLM staff saying, “Secretary Bernhardt leads the bureau and relies on the BLM’s management team to carry out the mission. Deputy Director for Programs and Policy, William Perry Pendley, will continue to serve in his leadership role.” Outraged by the appeal, the Democrats have introduced legislation to prevent this from happening. Senator John Tester has introduced the Public Lands Leadership Act, which would “prohibit the Department of Justice from defending Pendley in Bullock v. BLM.”

Whew! How’s that for political machinations and legal maneuvering over federal lands. Remember, they constantly tell us these lands must remain in federal hands so they can be professionally managed on scientific principles. What a laugher that is.

Now let’s cull the rhetoric and cut to the core of this issue. The enviro-left is not really all that upset by the musical chairs being played at Interior. No, what concerns them is the tune being played by the person sitting in that chair. Pendley’s western-oriented symphony is definitely not pleasing to their ears.

Until next time, be a nuisance to the devil and don’t forget to check that cinch.

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Frank DuBois was the NM Secretary of Agriculture from 1988 to 2003, is the author of a blog: The Westerner (www.thewesterner.blogspot.com) and is the founder of The DuBois Rodeo Scholarship and The DuBois Western Heritage Foundation ▫