New BLM Head’s Career Devoted to Selling Public Land, Deserves Confirmation Hearing
Want better management of public lands? So do we. The answer isn’t putting a lawyer in charge who wants to give away your public land.
On July 29 William Perry Pendley was appointed as new Deputy Director of the BLM – not the actual Director mind you (that position has remained vacant since 2017) – but still “exercising the Authority of the Director.”
Not only is that a violation of the Federal Vacancies Act, this modern-day land baron is King Clod among public land transfer advocates, made even more radical by supporting the sale of public lands directly to private ownership. We all know in Idaho what kind of people can afford to buy up hundreds of thousands of acres, and how easy it is for them to influence Idaho lawmaking. What could go wrong?
Pendley spent his entire career advocating for your public hunting grounds to be sold entirely. Gone. Privatized. Goodbye hunting for the working class. Oh, did you like hunting chukar south of Twin Falls, huns in the Owyhees, pronghorn in Lincoln County? When the sales come, how many blue-collar Idahoans will outbid folks like the Wilks bros?
Pendley has skirted the bipartisan scrutiny of a Senate confirmation hearing mandated of all agency heads. It’s a sneaky, potentially illegal way to give full Director authority powers to someone who would likely not be confirmed by a Senate hearing, considering his criticisms by Democrats and Republicans. This appointment without a Senate hearing will likely lead to an investigation into a violation of the Federal Vacancies Act. And it should be. Whether nominated by a Democrat or Republican president- the people have a right to vet agency head appointments through the Senate. Ignoring that law ignores the public’s rights and will cost taxpayers.
Our hunting lands need active management, not an anti-hunting, anti-public land activist fixated on doing nothing but giving public land to billionaires.
But hey, even if you want someone with no experience managing land in the position, the dude still needs to be vetted by the American people through a Senate confirmation hearing. This country is still a Republic.
If you support keeping lands open and accessible to public hunting, or respect current laws that require vetting agency heads, the Department of Interior, the Chair of the Senate Natural Resources committee (Lisa Murkowski-R) and ranking member (Joe Manchin-D), and Idaho delegates need to hear from you. Please consider sending a quick message to ask for a public vetting of Pendley, or to hire an actual Director. Proper management of our public lands depends on it.
Recent Posts
